The USA may leave the Russian Federation with the status of a market economy

The Ministry of Commerce of the United States is conducting an investigation into Russia's compliance with the market economy statute, according to the department's statement published in the Federal Register. finanz.media.

The status, which was assigned to Russia in 2002 with reference to the "huge changes" that occurred in the country after the collapse of the USSR, may be revoked following the anti-dumping inspection of urea-ammonia mixture supplies that began on June 30.

The investigation was initiated in connection with the appeal of American fertilizer producers, who, as the Ministry of Trade notes, "provided sufficient evidence for consideration of whether Russia should continue to be considered a market economy."

According to the Tariff Law of 1930, this status is assigned on the basis of five criteria: free currency convertibility, free pricing in the wage market, access to foreign investment, share of state control over the means of production, level of state influence over resource allocation and pricing. In addition, other factors may be taken into account.

The lack of market status can lead to a wave of duties in relation to Russian goods. Their cost will be calculated on the basis of data from third countries (where it may differ significantly from Russian), which, in turn, will facilitate the ascertainment of the facts of dumping by American regulators.

Now the list of non-market economies includes nine republics of the former USSR — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Also, Vietnam and China do not have market status.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, the People's Republic of China has been trying to achieve recognition of market status, but it has not received approval from either the United States or the European Union. This, in particular, became the basis for a package of duties introduced by the administration of Donald Trump on the supply of Chinese goods.