The dynamics of Russian-American economic cooperation in the first 10 months of the year have not been too encouraging. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the value of U.S. exports to Russia from January to November was only USD 4.73 billion, while the value of Russian imports into the U.S. stood at USD 21.376 billion. Even though these numbers do reflect a slight improvement over the trade results for the first ten months of 2009, when imports were around USD 4.496 billion and exports came to USD 15.256 billion, the potential of the U.S.-Russian economic relationship is much greater.

The Russian market presents considerable opportunities to American companies in a wide array of economic sectors. The volume of goods imported into Russia from the U.S. rose by 21 percent every year from 2000 to 2008. In 2008, the value of U.S. merchandise shipped to Russia was USD 9.3 billion.

As such, the Russian 7-billion-dollar market for computers, growing at a rate of about 11 percent per year, offers great business prospects for American exporters. A number of U.S. manufacturers already understand that these opportunities are important. The value of data processing machines imported into Russia from the U.S. this year to October rose by 18.6 percent year-on-year to USD 69.686 billion.

Imports accounted for about 53 percent of the Russian cosmetics and toiletries market as of July 2010. American exports of beauty products and make-up reached USD 80 million in the three quarters of the year.

Russia is a significant market for the American meat industry and poultry producers. By early November, the value of meat imports into Russia from the U.S. stood at USD 297 million, an increase of 10.7 percent year-on-year. Russia currently takes the seventh place in the ranking of largest foreign markets for American beef. U.S. poultry exports have now reached USD 151.96 million after the ban on U.S. chicken meat was lifted earlier this year.

Russia has also attracted the attention of nut producers in the U.S. The exports of tree nuts to the Russian market increased 21.1 percent on a year-on-year basis, reaching USD 47.68 million. Favorable developments for these exporters will take place after Russia accedes to the WTO, and tariffs on nut products go down to 5 percent.

American producers have also tapped into the Russian automobile market. This year, imports of cars and chassis increased by 226.4 percent year-on-year, exceeding USD 134 million. At the same time, imports of engines and engine parts declined by 36 percent to USD 5.525 million.

The value of aircrafts and aircraft components sold by U.S. manufacturers to companies on the Russian market was USD 247 million. While the figure reflected a decline of 35.7 percent in relation to the results for the first three quarters of 2009, analysts believe that the negative phenomena affecting the aviation industry will soon disappear. Before the economic downturn, Russia imported USD 754-million worth of aerospace industry products from America. Analysts anticipate that Russia would need to put into service more than 600 new aircrafts over the course of the next several years to upgrade its fleet.

Imports of oil and gas field machinery and equipment stood at USD 252 million. Though this figure also reflects a reduction from the import volumes witnessed in 2009, Russia – with the world’s greatest reserves of natural gas, second-largest coal reserves, and seventh-largest oil reserves – is sure to show a sustained demand for American equipment and services in the hydrocarbons extraction sector.

Vast avenues are open to companies from Russia and the United States for working together. The history of the economic partnership between Russia and the U.S. is long, and Russian consumers have always valued American goods for their quality. So, how will the future of bilateral economic cooperation look? According to recent surveys, the benefits of entering the Russian market are not outweighed by the risks companies take to pursue these commercial opportunities. If you now consider establishing a presence for your company in Russia, the swiftness of the country’s economic comeback after the global recession should leave you no doubt that the Russian market is robust, resilient, and always open to foreign players. 

U.S. exports to Russia from January to November were only USD 4.73 billion, while the value of Russian imports into the U.S. stood at USD 21.376 billion.