As many readers will be aware, Russia completed the WTO accession process in 2011 and is expected to join the WTO this year. One question this raises is how Russian WTO Membership might affect public health in Russia and the territory of other WTO Members. Focusing on Russia for the moment, there are a number of legal issues that have already begun to surface.

Food safety is the issue getting most attention in the popular press. Last week, a story ran to the effect that EU officials have objected to Russia’s response to the Schmallenberg virus. Others have argued that Russia disguises measures adopted for strategic or protectionist purposes as sanitary measures. The response to the Schmallenberg virus is an interesting one. It again raises the question of whether WTO rules and dispute settlement are well equipped to govern actions WTO Members take in response to the spread of disease. If the experience with H1N1 is anything to go by, WTO Members implementing temporary import bans are unlikely to be too troubled at the WTO. Readers may recall that a number of WTO Members implemented temporary bans on pork imports during H1N1. This ultimately resulted in a joint statement from the FAO, WHO and WTO, but the issue never made it to dispute settlement.

In the TBT Committee meeting this week, the EU also raised concerns about a Russian draft regulation on the safety of alcoholic beverages. The USDA has set out an unofficial English translation of the draft here. It will be interesting to see the minutes of this meeting (and the EU concerns) once they are released. A number of factors point to this as an issue to watch at the interface of trade and health. First, Russia has turned a corner in terms of health policy and is determined to address a rather large health burden associated with tobacco and alcohol consumption. This is evident in Russia hosting a ministerial conference last year before the UN High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases. Second, the size of the alcohol sector in both the EU and Russia will undoubtedly raise questions concerning the extent to which these measures are intended to protect domestic production. Any dispute would also most likely have flow on effects for how WTO law applies to alcohol regulation more generally.

One final question concerns legal strategy. Russia will be building its stock of WTO lawyers for some time. Can we expect other Members to take advantage of this and bring claims against Russia early in its membership? If so, how might this affect the balance between regulatory autonomy and respect for WTO commitments?