Weekly Bulletin

AmCham Participates with Moscow Government Officials on Business Council
 
On Friday, February 24, at the invitation of Moscow Deputy Mayor Andrey Sharonov, AmCham President and CEO Andrew Somers participated in a new City Hall committee, the Council for the Protection of Rights and Legitimate Interests of Business Entities. Mr. Sharonov invited Mr. Somers to participate as a member in order to gain the input of foreign businesses. This important development provides AmCham member companies with a significant opportunity and vehicle for raising their business concerns with Moscow officials. (For the Moscow Times’ full coverage of AmCham’s participation in the Council’s first meeting, please click here.)

AmCham Roundtable Briefing with Senator Max Baucus
 
The American Chamber of Commerce in Russia hosted a roundtable briefing on February 21, with U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in order to make its case that Congress should grant Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) and abrogate the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. Senator Baucus was in Russia to meet with the Russian President and other government officials to discuss economic, trade, and foreign-affairs issues.
 

AmCham Meeting with Economic Development Minister Nabiullina
 
On February 20, at the Minister’s invitation, Andrew Somers met with RF Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina to discuss U.S. models for ombudsman agencies.

AmCham Briefing with Assistant Secretary of State
 
On February 17, AmCham hosted a roundtable briefing with Philip Gordon, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, to discuss business opportunities in Russia for American companies and the need to grant Russia PNTR.

AmCham Takes Part in U.S. Road Show
 
During the week of February 6, Andrew Somers was in New York, Atlanta, and Houston, taking part in a road show organized by member companies in order to highlight business opportunities in Russia for American companies.

Andrew Somers meets with U.S. Ambassador to APEC
 
On February 19, Andrew Somers met with the Hans Klemm, the U.S. Ambassador to APEC (the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) in Moscow to prepare for business participation in the upcoming APEC summit in Vladivostok in September.

Customs & Transportation Committee Meeting
 
On February 9, the AmCham Customs & Transportation Committee met in Moscow for a presentation by Alexander Bychkov (Partner, Baker & McKenzie) on dispute resolution within the WTO.

PR Committee Meets
 
On February 9 the AmCham PR Committee meeting in Saint Petersburg featured Mr. Ivan Artsishevskiy (international etiquette and protocol expert), who spoke about business etiquette.

IT Committee in St. Petersburg
 
On February 14, Victor Naumov (Salans) and the Committee Co-chairs of the AmCham IT Committee gave a presentation in St. Petersburg on the general trends and changes to IT legislation in 2011.

Enterprise Development Committee Meets in Moscow
 
On February 15, the AmCham Enterprise Development Committee met in Moscow and heard guest speaker Oskar Hartmann (Founder & CEO, KupiVIP) speak on the topic of doing online business in Russia.
 

AmCham in Washington D.C.
 
During the week of February 13, Andrew Somers travelled to Washington D.C. to meet with key members of Congress regarding the establishment of Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the Russian Federation and the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment.

AmCham Takes Part in Joint U.S. State Department – U.S. Chamber of Commerce Event
 
On the week of February 20, AmCham Russia joined 115 international AmChams in a two-day event organized by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C. During the conference, AmCham Russia’s Executive Vice President Tatiana Raguzina took part in panels and presentations chaired by Michelle O’Neill (Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce, State Department), Robert Hormats (Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment), and Philip Gordon (Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs).

HR Committee Meeting
 
On February 16, the AmCham HR Committee Meeting met in St. Petersburg to discuss issues related to project management.

ICT Committee meets with U.S. Embassy Officials
 
On February 17, the AmCham ICT Committee met in Moscow with Robyn Kessler (Commercial Attaché, U.S. Commercial Service) and Thomas Wolf (Senior Trade Officer, U.S. Embassy) for a discussion of the implications of Russia’s ascension to the WTO for the ICT industry. Also, Darya Kolesnikova (Commercial Specialist, U.S. Commercial Service) briefly discussed Foreign Commercial Service services and upcoming events.

AmCham Tourism & Hospitality Committee in St. Petersburg
 
On February 21 in St. Petersburg, the AmCham Tourism & Hospitality Committee met with officials from the City Tourist and Information Center.

AmCham Investment & Legal Seminar
 
On February 21 AmCham St. Petersburg held the AmCham Investment & Legal Seminar, reviewing key changes made to legislation in the last year, and their impact on doing business.

Taxation Committee Meets
 
On February 22, the AmCham Taxation Committee held a meeting in St. Petersburg, featuring Mr. Andrey Mukhin (Legal Department, St. Petersburg Federal Tax Service of Russia), who discussed typical problems found by Tax Service officials during tax audits.