Two years ago, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin shocked the World Trade Organization by saying his country would apply to join the trade body as a group with Belarus and Kazakhstan, and effectively put Moscow’s accession bid on hold. Friday, he took a hard line on an issue that could again break Russia’s membership talks.

He said no trade-off is possible between Russia’s new car assembly rules and its membership in WTO. “Our position, can’t be changed,” Mr. Putin said.

The rules, which effectively trade off the low import duties on car components and the billions of investment in the Russian car industry are opposed by U.S. and EU.  To get the carrots, the car makers have to boost the capacity of their existing facilities or build new ones, and source components locally. Read More »