The protocol was inked by Russia’s Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina and the WTO’s Director General Pascal Lamy.

At a conference on December 16, the organization’s members approved a package of documents that cleared the way for Russia’s membership.

The package must now be ratified by the Russian government, so that Russia would become a plenipotentiary member to the WTO within 30 days of the ratification. A spokesperson for the Russian government said that this process could happen in June-August 2012. “The conditions with which Russia has joined the WTO are advantageous for us, as well as for our trading partners,” Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said at a news conference.

The Russian government expects the U.S. government to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment – currently limiting trade between the two countries – in the coming months, Shuvalov added.

The Jackson-Vanik amendment was passed in 1974 and restricts U.S. trade by denying most favored nation status to countries that limit emigration rights. The amendment was originally intended to pressure the Soviet Union into allowing its citizens to emigrate.

Earlier, the U.S. government said that the issue of abolishing the Jackson-Vanik amendment would be of policy priority in 2012.

American businessmen are going to press the United States Congress for the earliest repeal of the discriminatory Jackson-Vanik amendment towards Russia. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), a major U.S. organization uniting industrialists, established a working group on trade relations with Russia.

By joining the WTO Russia agrees to reduce trade barriers and increase the financial responsibility, which plays into the hands of U.S. producers and will help them increase supplies to this large market, NAM Vice President Frank Vargo said. “For us to really use the advantages of Russia’s accession to the WTO, the U.S. Congress should pass a bill granting Russia the permanent normal trade partner status. The Working Group established by NAM will work with members of Congress, proving the importance of such a move designed to boost exports and create jobs.” Vice president of the American aluminum giant Alcoa Daniel Cruise heads the Working Group.

Following its accession to the WTO, Russia would likely receive an additional $2 billion in annual revenue, while the economy is expected to continue growing thanks to the country’s burgeoning middle class, Igor Yurgens, vice president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said. Yurgens also added that Russia’s membership could help stimulate the economy, as WTO membership would act as an added guarantee for foreign investors.

Russia was the only major economy not included in the WTO. It had been in negotiations to join the organization since 1994.