OREANDA-NEWS. July 07, 2010. The relevant decision is contained in a joint statement of the heads of Customs Union member-state made in a session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council (the Union State supreme body) in Astana on 5 July. The Customs Union regulations are introduced in the three countries on 6 July 2010. The regulations have been applied in Russia and Kazakhstan since 1 July 2010. The single customs territory of the three countries comes into force on 6 July.

Belarus Vice Premier Andrei Kobyakov told media what novelties are introduced in Belarus on 6 July. In his words, the situation will change dramatically on the Belarusian-Russia border. If the Russian side provided customs registration and customs clearance towards the goods from third countries in more than 11,700 positions before, then only particular goods will be subject to customs clearance from 6 July. “Any product entering the Customs Union and put into free circulation can cross the borders of the Union member-states without registration and clearance. Belarus can set up assembling plants and trade these products freely on the Customs Union territory,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

Besides, the agreements on the unified rules for technical regulations, hygiene, veterinary and phyto-sanitary requirements take effect on the same day. “All these agreements we have signed and ratified come into force on 6 July 2010,” the Vice Premier stated.

Thus, all the certificates and protocols of the research on compliance to the technical requirements of the products received at the Belarusian testing laboratories become valid in the Customs Union zone.

“Almost all the goods will move freely within the Customs Union territory. It will give an additional opportunity to attract investments in the country. The customs union with its 170-million-strong market is important for Belarus economic development,” Andrei Kobyakov said.
According to Vice Premier, Car import duties for Belarusian natural persons will remain unchanged till 1 July 2011. The relevant decision is contained in the protocol on temporary exceptions within the single customs territory regime. The document was signed in Astana on 5 July.

“Yet the sides have not been able to announce a full-fledged single customs territory as the countries are not ready to lift a certain amount of restrictions. The sides are not historically ready to remove export customs duties in mutual trade,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

The matter concerns export customs duties on oil and oil products that will be removed for Belarus as soon as the country signs and ratifies the whole package of documents on the single economic space (SES) of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. The customs duties on oil and oil products will be lifted automatically for Belarus, regardless what SES documents are signed and ratified by Russia and Kazakhstan. The initial plans were to remove these customs duties for the Belarusian side only after the whole package of the SES documents are signed and ratified by all Customs Union participating states. The heads of Customs Union member-state agreed to intensify the development of agreements on forming the single economic space between the three countries. All the documents will be worked out by 1 January 2011.

According to Andrei Kobyakov, in the mutual trade with Russia “there are no export customs duties on gas (it is 21.5 billion cubic meters of gas) and on 6.3 million tonnes of oil”. It is important that the sides have defined when the export customs duties will be waived in the mutual trade, the Vice Premier stressed. “The fixation of the commitments of the sides in the protocol on temporary exceptions is also a serious step forward,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

Besides, Belarus will keep its national trade regulations with third countries till 1 July 2011. “The sides have not yet completed the negotiations with third countries on the trade regime as Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan have different trade regimes with third countries,” Andrei Kobyakov said. The Vice Premier stressed that the formation of the Customs Union should not worsen the mutual trade terms with third countries.

The terms of state support to agricultural producers will be discussed during separate negotiations between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan as they develop the single economic space (SES), Andrei Kobyakov told.

“The sides need to agree on the volume of agricultural subsidies,” Vice-Premier said.

There exist a certain methodology in this area, and green, yellow and red boxes as the WTO classified them, according to Andrei Kobyakov. Red-box subsidies are prohibited. We have not used them for a long time already. Green-box subsidies are the support measures for the infrastructure development, ecology – everything that does not distort trade. Yellow-box subsidies are all domestic support measures considered to distort production and trade though not too much,” the vice-Premier said.

“The talks will continue on this issue. We are agreeing on the methodology. Our partners once rejected all kinds of agricultural subsidies but now they have started providing significant support. There is a well-known phrase. If re-phrased, it says that those who do not support their own farmers support someone else’s. There is no country in the world that would not support its agricultural sector. The point is about the degree and the volume, which makes these issues the subject of separate negotiations,” Andrei Kobyakov added.