MOSCOW, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Accession to the World Trade Organisation would allow Russia to trim import tariffs while remaining competitive, the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Tuesday.

Thomas Mirow called on Russia, the largest country outside the WTO, to increase efforts to join the WTO at a time when Moscow is pursuing a customs union with ex-Soviet neighbours Belarus and Kazakhstan as a precursor to accession.

'(WTO membership) would help reduce the recent import tariffs across various sectors that Russia introduced in response to the financial crisis,' said Mirow, who is on a trip to Russia.

'Advancing its membership in the World Trade Organisation is an important anchor to promote the competitiveness of domestic industry and services.'

Russia's 16-year trail of WTO talks has often stalled on various disputes. Accession talks resumed recently after a pause following Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's assertion in June that Russia would join only as part of the customs union -- an unprecedented move in the history of the WTO.

That announcement 'probably did not accelerate the talks', Mirow said.

Putin urged officials on Tuesday to expedite work on launching the customs union. Addressing his government's 'border committee', he said Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus should launch a common trade mechanism and prepare a customs code between January and June 2010.

'There are many threats to the creation of such a union. But I think you all understand perfectly that, if we complete this work, it will be a real example of integration on post-Soviet space,' Putin said, without commenting on WTO accession.

The customs union will come into force on Jan. 1, 2010, creating common external tariffs for the three former Soviet republics and a single market for 165 million people.

Tariffs still an issue

Before joining the WTO -- through the customs union or on its own -- Russia must resolve several trade and tariff issues.

For example, should it join the organisation, the country would have to cut the upper level of its raw sugar import tariff to $250 per tonne from $270.

Russia has stiffened restrictions on a series of imports, including a 30 percent duty on new foreign cars, to protect domestic industries during a recession that wiped out a tenth of the country's economy in the first half of the year.

Russia is not alone in taking protective action -- many others rushed to aid their domestic producers as well, resulting in rising anti-dumping investigations in the past year -- but WTO economies have been restrained by the organisation's rules on import restrictions.

President Dmitry Medvedev said last month he was confident his country would join the body.

Mirow said it was difficult to estimate how much longer it would take for Russia to become a WTO member.

'I cannot but encourage Russia to undertake further necessary efforts and I would not see major powers that would have any interest in Russia not joining the WTO,' he said.

'The (European Union) would have a very strong interest in seeing this country join.'

Recent data from Russia's Federal Customs Service showed trade with the European Union amounted to 50.4 percent of the country's overall trade in the first nine months of the year. Keywords: TRADE RUSSIA/EBRD

(lidia.kelly@reuters.com; +7 495 775 1242)

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By Lidia Kelly and Gleb Bryanski
11.10.09, 11:19 AM EST

Source: www.forbes.com