Both before and after Russia joined the World Trade Organization, the controversy over the very tangible blow to Russian producers from the Russian Federation's membership in the WTO did not subside. This concern could be traced both among economists, industrialists, and in political circles. A special question arose where it was a question of the staffing of the Russian Armed Forces.
The overwhelming majority of people believed that after Russia became a member of the WTO, the Russian army could find itself in a fairly strong dependence on foreign manufacturers.
The highest power circles of the Russian Federation are also concerned about such an issue as a hypothetical increase in the dependence of the Russian Armed Forces on foreign business in terms of equipping them with equipment, food, and clothing.
In particular, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tried to point out the existence of such a problem more than once, and now, apparently, the load has moved forward. In particular, the other day it was reported that the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has prepared a remarkable draft resolution that regulates the procurement for the power spheres. It is planned that now the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation will categorically prohibit the purchase of textile products and other materials of foreign production for the manufacture of equipment for military personnel and police officers and other representatives of the Russian system for protecting the constitutional order.
Now, according to the official representative of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, all components and products themselves, passing under the state defense order, should have only domestic Russian origin. In other words, all representatives of the category of power structures (the Russian army in particular) will have to serve in Russian-made uniforms, sewn exclusively from Russian materials.
It is noteworthy that this kind of draft resolution did not appear today, and not even yesterday. The first data on the need to prepare a document on the transition of the security forces to the use of domestic textiles and other materials for uniforms and shoes appeared even when Vladimir Putin was Prime Minister (March 2011). In a preliminary form, the Ministry of Economic Development "gave birth" to the project in May of this year, but only today it can begin to really be embodied in reality. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, who, for some reason, thought too long in this case too, are guilty of the fact that the project cannot begin to be implemented for several months …
If we take into account the number of military personnel and policemen in Russia, then we can unequivocally say that the transition exclusively to Russian materials when creating uniforms, shoes, and also bed linen will be an excellent incentive for the development of the domestic light industry. Indeed, today, due to the current circumstances, the same Russian textile industry loses many times over to the similar industry in China, due to the fact that China follows the path of least resistance: more cheap and low-quality products …
It turns out that the draft decree from the Ministry of Economic Development is intended to support the domestic manufacturer, whose position did not look the most cloudless even without Russia's accession to the WTO, and after joining this manufacturer could find itself in a very difficult situation. And the country's quite substantial military budget will help him today.
Are there pitfalls in the draft resolution from the Ministry of Economic Development? Undoubtedly, there is, as in any decree from any ministry.
In particular, there is a concern of the following kind: if the purchases are going to be carried out exclusively from Russian producers, then it will be necessary to somehow solve the problem with the objective lack of some raw materials in Russia. One of these raw materials is cotton, which, as you know, the Russian Federation itself hardly grows due to climatic features, but buys from the countries of Central Asia. In this regard, either the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia will have to completely abandon the purchase of cotton products from Russian companies, since they are mainly produced from Central Asian raw materials, or the project still needs to clearly discuss options for purchasing certain types of foreign-made goods.
However, we can say with confidence that it is quite possible to remove small roughnesses in the project in the near future. None of its points seems so impracticable as the ideological supporters of purchases of what is "cheaper" outside the Russian Federation, and concurrently ideological opponents of state purchases from Russian manufacturers, are trying to present them today.
By the way, about cotton. Even if we say that the plans of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will include a complete rejection of its purchases abroad, this may spur the active work of cotton producers in Kalmykia. Here already this year, a decision was made to cultivate cotton crops on an area of 150 hectares. A little, but as you know, the main thing is to start …
Let's hope that the project will begin to be implemented in the near future, loading Russian industrial enterprises with work, and bringing new revenues to the state budget.
