In the course of its efforts to ad­dress the auto recycling fee issue with the European Union in the WTO format, Russia decided to impose recycling fees on its domestic car makers that will equal the fee as­sessed against foreign producers. The assessments go into effect from January 1, 2014. The preamble to the law imposing recycling fees on in-country manufacturers reads that Russia cannot make exception to specific categories of car manufac­turers after its accession to the World Trade Organization. Automobiles from Belarus and Kazakhstan are also in­cluded in the new law.

Prior to the measure’s adoption, manufacturers located within the cus­toms union countries were able to avoid the assessment of the recycling fee if they guaranteed the disposal of the cars in an environmentally- friendly manner after the completion of the vehicle’s lifecycle.

Russia’s initiative is nearly certain to result in the termination of WTO proceedings commenced by the European Union that alleged undue discrimination relative to imported ve­hicles. At the same time, some Eu­ropean Union representatives on the day of Russia’s announcement were of the view that the legal changes will not solve the problem in its entirety.

American car manufacturers have a substantial presence within Russia’s domestic market. As such, General Motors operates a production facil­ity in the city of Togliatti. Ford has a plant close to St. Petersburg that started production in 2002.

Ford Focus was Russia’s most popular foreign passenger vehicle as recently as in 2010. For 2012, America’s exports of autos to Russia exceeded USD832 million by value.