OREANDA-NEWS. February 04, 2013. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov called on all participants of domestic trade to join forces for working out and adopting a compromise law that would set uniform, clear and transparent rules which will be acceptable for all participants of domestic trade.

Precisely for that purpose, the Prime Minister today at a meeting with representatives of consumer protection organizations, manufacturers, retail chains and experts discussed the draft Law of Ukraine "On Internal Trade". The bill, developed by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in the framework of the preparation of the State program for the economic development, was approved by the Cabinet and submitted to Parliament on November 10, 2011.

But the document did not overcome lobbying resistance. "Good intentions often encounter opposition from people who are happy with the current situation. It is much easier to negotiate with lobbying grouping than with the Government to develop a compromise approaches and deliver the bill through parliament, setting clear and transparent rules", Mykola Azarov said.

He recalled that the Government to actualize the bill and harmonize outstanding issues, established a working group comprising representatives of Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the State Service of Ukraine for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship Development, the Antimonopoly Committee, the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers, the European Business Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Ukrainian Federation of consumers, Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, unions of trade workers, domestic producers and retailers.

During the meeting Mykola Azarov said that, despite the difficult economic situation, the retail trade shows annual growth to 16%. At the same time, this industry with the highest shadowing economic processes and the industry where almost no operating rules.

"Why, for example, the purchase price of milk is about UAH 2.5 and milk in the shop costs UAH 8? Or why our manufacturer delivers the goods and the calculations for it manufacturer gets through quite a long time, sometimes it lasts a few months?" - the Prime Minister noted. He also stressed that, in shopping malls, supermarkets mainly imported goods are realized but not domestic production. "We are interested to sell first of all domestically produced goods. But calculations show that one square meter of sales area gives 80% of profits to a importer and only 20% to a domestic manufacturer", he said.

Another not resolved legal issue - the work of online stores, especially those that do not have their own premises. Low quality but cheap products that are sold over the Internet - it is a real challenge as to the existence of the trade sector, and national production. And it's a risk to the consumer, who has no opportunity to return defective goods. It is a challenge to society, which does not receive their tax payments.

"Therefore, the government's goal is to create a normative field, which would provide quality service to customers, reasonable pricing with civilized trade margins, support domestic producers by trade and effective incentives to the development of trade itself. Now there is a need to establish single, clear and transparent rules for all participants in the internal trade which would be economically attractive: how to trade and to the supplier of the goods", PM said.

According to him, the discussion of the bill is a search for parity. Target setting of the bill: to provide variety, variety of forms of commerce this combines sales contest for customers with competitive suppliers, making insider trading engine of the economy, which will ensure the development and growth of related industries.

Based on the discussion of the bill, Mykola Azarov called on the participants to compile suggestions and comments to the document and submit it to the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration.