On Wednesday, Russia officially entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) after 18 years of negotiation. Russia is one of the final major global economic powers to join the organization which restricts duties and subsidies in order to create fair market trade.
While it would help to create a level playing field for trade in Russia, some products that are not competitive in the country could be threatened by imports with the elimination of certain subsidies. About 100 business and industry groups signed and submitted a petition at the beginning of the summer indicating opposition to Russia joining the WTO.