Entrance course: the Russian Federation will develop a procedure for the return of Western business

Russian business has wisely taken advantage of the departure of Western companies and occupied the vacant market niches: its interests will be a priority against the background of the potential return of organizations from abroad to the Russian Federation. Vladimir Putin stated this on March 18 at the plenary session of the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. The President confirmed the interest of some companies to start working in the Russian market again — the government will develop a separate return procedure for them. According to experts, their losses after leaving Russia exceed $1.2 trillion. How many sanctions have been imposed against the Russian Federation and what worries business today is in the Izvestia article.

The RSPP Congress in Moscow — the main statements

The annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs was held at the International House of Music in Moscow. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs represents the interests of the business community: the organization has united over 320 thousand Russian companies in all regions. The enterprises represented in the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs collectively produce more than 60% of Russia's gross domestic product.

In total, about 1.3 thousand delegates came to the congress, among them both the largest entrepreneurs and government representatives. For example, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that his department, together with the Central Bank, is now taking measures to cool the economy in order to reduce inflation. The Minister urged businesses to reduce their costs more actively.

— In practice, everything should be as planned, so that there is no such excessive cooling as in a cryocamber. We need everything to be done slowly," said Vladimir Putin, who traditionally attends the congress.

Today, the Russian Federation is strengthening its sovereignty in all areas, including the development of transport, logistics, financial and payment infrastructure, the president said. Against this background, competitors will always seek to contain the Russian Federation and weaken its economic and technological capabilities.

— Global competition has intensified and is becoming more sophisticated and at the same time irreconcilable. So, literally before our eyes, a new spiral of economic rivalry is unfolding," the president said.

How many sanctions have been imposed against Russia

In recent years, the domestic business has faced serious challenges: powerful sanctions pressure, restrictions on international settlements and operations in foreign markets. But Russian entrepreneurs have learned how to work in the face of sanctions from the collective West. Moreover, today, in relation to individuals and legal entities in the Russian Federation, many times more restrictions have been introduced than in relation to all countries in total.

— It seems that the initiators themselves lost count of how many restrictions they imposed and against whom, but the Ministry of Finance counted. I can confidently tell you that there are 28,595 sanctions against individuals and legal entities," the head of state said.

Such actions undermine freedom of investment and global trade, on the other hand, they have become an additional catalyst for positive changes in the Russian economy, including in the field of finance and technology, Vladimir Putin noted.

— Many people believe that these sanctions are illegal, they have become a form of pressure on Russian business. It is not for nothing that our president has this on his agenda as one of the conditions for the settlement (of relations with the United States - Izvestia). Therefore, we believe that it would be right for us to follow the public policy in this area," Vladimir Potanin, President of Norilsk Nickel, told Izvestia.

Russian entrepreneurs have managed to launch alternative cooperation mechanisms with other partners from abroad who want to work with Moscow. Vladimir Putin is counting on the active participation of Russian business in projects with BRICS partners.

Can foreign brands return to Russia

Vladimir Putin devoted most of his speech to foreign companies wishing to return to Russia, which left the market after the start of their work. By the way, Russian business took advantage of this competently and occupied the vacant niches. Now some organizations that left Russia are going to return to the Russian Federation, the president confirmed.

— It is difficult to accurately assess even the direct losses of Western business in Russia. But at the moment, they have clearly lost more than the $600 billion of our international reserves, which are believed to have been blocked in the West. The direct losses of Western corporations alone from the write-off of losses in Russia exceed $1.2 trillion. And the losses of potential profits from the market niches they have left in Russia are generally beyond estimation, which is an order of magnitude greater," economist Valery Korneev told Izvestia.

Vladimir Putin instructed the government to develop a procedure for the return of Western business to Russia with a guarantee of fair business conduct. The Cabinet of Ministers should especially closely monitor the deals on the return of Western companies that left, "slamming the door."

— The interests of Russian companies, enterprises, and their employees will always be a priority for us. It is from these positions that we will consider the issue of returning foreign business to our market," said Vladimir Putin.

The President promised that the interests of domestic firms would be a priority: someone has already invested, set up production, and someone is only at the beginning of the project and is starting construction, despite the high rate. "And, of course, we have no right to undermine these plans, to nullify the invested forces and funds, the interests of Russian companies and their employees," he said.

— As it was before, it won't be any more. There is no reason to hope for complete freedom of trade, payments and capital flows, just as there is no need to rely on Western mechanisms to protect the rights of investors and entrepreneurs," the president stressed.

Admittedly, these mechanisms used to work with a creak, he added, "but now the covers have completely fallen off." It became obvious to everyone what the various "high courts" in European capitals and Western jurisdictions were worth, which many sought to hide there. "That's it. There is none of this. And there are no hidden jurisdictions," Putin concluded.