Posted on 06/14/2002 1:54:22 PM PDT by Ivan the Terrible
Last week, the Bush administration announced it will designate Russia as a "market economy," a long-sought economic prize that comes more than a decade after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. President Bush relayed the decision to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a 20-minute telephone call from the White House.
The designation will give Russian companies more protection to fight off charges that they are selling products in the U.S. at low prices. The decision, made by the Commerce Department Import Administration, represents a further step in Bush's campaign to strengthen economic ties, indicating that relations between America and its former Cold War foe have entered a new era.
As the Moscow press reported, Putin welcomed this gesture toward Russia, noting that it will give a "powerful impetus to developing bilateral economic ties." The Russian president also viewed the designation as a reward for Moscow's support since Sept. 11 of the U.S.-led war against international terrorism.
According to Moscow's estimates, the "market economy" recognition could boost Russian exports to the U.S. by $1.5 billion annually.
The Russian economy is still in decline and exists mostly on exports of its natural resources, along with funds obtained from the U.S. and other Western countries. During the last decade, the Russian government converted almost 70 percent of former Soviet-run enterprises into the private properties of a corrupt elite and organized crime syndicates whose leaders could care less about such matters as increasing production, remaining committed solely to increasing their own private wealth.
According to Russian law enforcement agency estimates, currently about 60 percent of Russia's private banks, companies, corporations and other businesses are under the control of, or operate in close collaboration with, criminal syndicates. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, however, the number of organized crime connections is closer to 90 percent.
In this situation it's practically impossible to recognize Russia's economy as a "market economy" in a common sense of the term.
Prominent American experts recognize that most of the Russian economy is "virtual," existing only on paper. They underscore that the only area of a working economy in Russia is its energy system – the so-called natural monopolies such as Gazprom and United Energy Systems are, for all intents and purposes, government property and under Kremlin control.
Commerce Department officials, who recently completed their nine-month investigation of the Russian economy and recommended designation of "market economy," ignored this fact and conceded it to be a sticking point, which it will remain to be in future WTO negotiations.
To grant Moscow "market economy" recognition means to grant it additional funds, which could be used for Russia's military buildup and preparations, as well as for new secret bank accounts for the corrupt elite in Switzerland and other Western countries.
An interesting point – the U.S. "market economy" designation follows by a week a similar announcement from the 15-nation European Union, Russia's biggest trading partner. Russia hopes that the recognition from the world's largest economy will strengthen its case for membership in the World Trade Organization, the Geneva-based group that sets the rules for world trade.
For Russia to win WTO membership, the U.S. must exclude it from requirements of the 1974 Jackson-Vanik law, which ties Moscow's tariff privileges to the country's record on Jewish immigration and human rights.
The Bush administration had hoped to win repeal of the Jackson-Vanik requirements from Congress this year and could grant Russia new privileges.
Currently, it looks as if Russia will win WTO membership soon, with increased economic and financial benefits from its trade with the U.S. and other Western countries.
There is no doubt that the new funds and resources from this trade will be used by corrupt Russian political leaders to increase their personal wealth and to continue military preparations against the United States and other countries, whose leaders meanwhile are providing Moscow with new privileges and benefits.
Much better than the Europeans, that's for sure.
They are also slowly freeing up gun rights.
While we become the former Soviet Union, they are becoming the former United States.
Hmmmmm....
No wonder Dubya gave Pootie-Poot "Market Economy" status --
they're already the equivalent of Vicente Fox and NAFTA!!!
Well Western Europeans, that is. Ironically now our strongest allies are in the former captive nations, especially Poland.
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