International Trade Issues of the Russian Federation

Trade and capital flows between Russia and the rest of the world are now significant for both partners. The economic reforms introduced in Russia since 1991 have converted an autarkic, highly regulated economy into a relatively open one. The dramatic change followed from the abolition of central planning and complex exchange rate controls as Yeltsin came to power in Russia and the Soviet Union collapsed. Yet the years since 1991 are not simply a record of tearing down trade barriers. Instead Russia's role in the international economy appears to be erratic and inconsistent. Also the transformation of earlier inter-republic deliveries between former republics of the Soviet Union to trade between independent states implied the sometimes controversial establishment of new trade barriers. The country's struggle to develop a viable trade policy provides unique insights into the consequences of the conflicts of economic ideas: free trade versus protectionism; rewards for economic efficiency versus social equity; and macroeconomic stability versus maintaining employment. The clash among policy proposals has been reflected in political struggles, for the decisions on these matters have an impact on the lives of the 179 million Russians. The papers that make up this volume are from a conference held in May 1994 at IIASA, in Laxenburg, Austria. The conference was on Russia's international trade issues, aside from its ties to the republics of the former Soviet Union, a topic of another conference in 1993.