EU: Russian bans on live animal exports is unfair

Time is running out for Russia to settle trade disputes with the European Union on everything from pigs to cars, the EU trade chief said on Wednesday, threatening to take Moscow to the World Trade Organization now it is a member of the body, according to Reuters. The European Union said Russia, one of its biggest trade partners, unfairly levies fees on imported vehicles, unreasonably bans EU exports of live animals and makes it costly for the bloc to export hundreds of products, especially wood. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he saw little willingness in Moscow to overcome EU complaints, setting up a potentially tense EU-Russia summit in Brussels on Dec. 21, which Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend. "The European Union will not wait forever to reach agreement. And the clock is ticking," De Gucht said in a speech prepared for delivery in Brussels on Wednesday. "We are most certainly prepared to use all the legal avenues at our disposal, and since Russia's accession, that includes dispute settlement at the WTO," he added.