BUSINESS

Agriculture Minister Urges WTO to Ease Rules on Agriculture Products

Combined Reports

MOSCOW — Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev on Friday called for “special conditions” for food and agriculture products within the World Trade Organization, saying they would help Russia modernize.

Protecting the world’s food supply is as important as energy security, and agriculture should not be considered just a “traded good,” Gordeyev said in Berlin.

Russia, the world’s third-largest wheat exporter, needs significant investments to modernize farms, including access to funds and credit, he said.

In recent months, many countries have put aside considerations of global trading regulations, including subsidies for industries, to save their economies, Gordeyev said. “Perhaps it’s a bold of me to say, but it seems like most countries have forgotten the WTO rules and are doing what is in their best interests economically,” he said.

Disputes over Russian tariffs — most recently, threatened duties on timber and increased levies on imported cars — have delayed talks between Moscow and the international trade body.

(Bloomberg, SPT)

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