On Thursday, US President Barack Obama formally granted Russia "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) after the House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation allowing the President to do so. The proclamation also permits the US and Russia to establish WTO relations in Geneva.
"We can now move to apply the WTO Agreement between the United States and Russia, giving the United States the benefits of Russia's WTO commitments and the tools to enforce them," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement.