Speaking at the yearly gathering of the U.S.-Russia Business Council (“U.S.R.B.C.”) in New York on October 26, 2017, Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov emphasized the significance of trying to keep the business relationship between the two countries intact from political tensions.

The Minister said he remained hopeful that the geopolitical situation would not compromise the prospects of joint projects between Russian and American companies.

In his address to the audience Mr. Manturov underscored that Russia stood prepared to grow commercial cooperation with U.S. counterparts, provided that the American side does not overact regarding the new round of sanctions that the U.S. lawmakers mandated the executive branch officials to impose.

Mr. Manturov added that he does not consider it constructive for the Russian side to always be on the lookout for what retaliatory actions it could take against the United States. The Minister specifically stated that joint efforts between Russian and U.S. companies are gaining momentum in the hi-tech sector, all despite the sanctions.

Minister Manturov stated that companies in the U.S. and in Europe were more affected as a result of the sanctions than companies in Russia.

Business free of politics

Mr. Manturov’s address went on to say that Russia didn’t precipitate the political crisis in the U.S.-Russian relationship. The Minister voiced his optimism to the effect that better economic ties between the two countries would lead to bringing the overall relationship between Russian and the U.S. to a new normal. The Russian official praised the U.S.R.B.C.’s role in improving relations between the countries. The Minister characterized the Business Council as a vital organ for facilitating mutual projects between the U.S. and Russia. In the Minister’s view, the commercial ties are key to driving the relationship between the countries. During his trip to the U.S., Minister Manturov held talks with representatives of Anheuser-Busch InBev, Boeing, and the Ford Motor Company.

Good trends

The CEO for Boeing Russia Sergey Kravchenko said that Trade Minister Manturov’s U.S. visit constitutes a good indication that commercial relationships between the countries will improve, notwithstanding the political problems. The fact that Russia’s government would dispatch a high-profile ministerial official to the U.S. reflects the willingness on the part of the Russian side to entertain dialogue.

According to another business executive Alexey Kim, who serves as the director of strategy for Philip Morris International, the cigarette manufacturer is not confronting any problems in Russia, despite the political turbulence. Not only does Philip Morris have production assets within Russia, but also it exports Russian-made goods out of the country. Sanctions have not affected Philip Morris in any regard.

Talking about the outcome of the U.S.R.B.C.’s annual meeting, the Philip Morris executive noted that the event’s participants discussed the current state of the Russian economy and reiterated the assurances given earlier in the year at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum to expand the Leningrad-region production facilities. The company is also focused on participating in public-private partnerships to fight counterfeit products. For his part, the Industry and Trade Minister Manturov voiced a commitment to counteracting illegal imports.

Anatoly Antonov, the Russian Ambassador to the United States, as well as Tigran Sargsyan, the Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Union, also participated in the U.S.R.B.C. sessions and took part in other meetings on the sidelines of the event.

The goal of U.S.R.B.C. is to cultivate commercial relationships between the United States and Russia through networking, as well as by offering consulting services for members and providing opportunities for interacting with senior public and private officials.