MOSCOW, November 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia retains the right to put quotas on meat imports from the United States after 2009, the economics minister said Tuesday.
Russia and the United States signed a bilateral agreement on Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization in Hanoi on the weekend, capping several years of negotiations in which U.S. meat imports proved a major stumbling block.
"We agreed on the level of quotas, and on Russia retaining the right to approve quotas after 2009," German Gref said.
Before joining the global trade body, Russia must first sign bilateral protocols with Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Moldova, and renegotiate its entry with Georgia.
