No solution yet in negotiations on roundwood duties

Press release 106/2008
28 March, 2008

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Kudrin failed on Thursday to reach a solution in negotiations to the dispute over export duties levied on roundwood. The European Commission, however, is continuing its efforts to find a solution, or at least to convince Russia to abandon the idea of new increases.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen has written to Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov on Friday, calling for a quick solution of the issue and appealing for Russia to give up the increases in roundwood duties planned for 1 April. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen has sent a letter with similar content to the Minister for Economic Development and Trade Elvira Nabiullina of Russia.

Russia is negotiating on accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The dispute over export duties levied on roundwood is the key remaining unresolved issue on which Russia must reach a joint understanding with her trade partners before accession to membership of the WTO. The intention is to complete Russia’s WTO accession negotiations during 2008.

Additional information: Director General Jorma Korhonen, Ministry for Foreign Affairs Department for External Economic Relations, tel. +358 9 1605 5042, mobile tel. +358 40 732 4567; Ilkka Saarinen, Head of the Unit for Market Access, tel. +358 9 1605 6327, mobile tel. +358 40 847 2405