Andrei Belyaninov, chief of Russia's Federal Customs Service, is seen on TV.
Photo: Sergey Shakhidzhanyan
| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Customs Union Hardly Compatible with WTO
Russia’s government has signed a package of agreements on the uniform terms for tariff preference within the Customs Union. But a raft of documents legalized within the EurAsEC will become null and void once any member of the new alliance joins the WTO.
The government inked past week a number of agreements related to the interaction of Customs Union members. One of them is the agreement on tariff quotas on the agricultural product and the product similar to it. Under the agreement, the quota shares will be equally distributed amid the applicants. As to the third parties, the size will be determined after consulting with suppliers and provided their share of imports to the common customs territory will be at least 10 percent.
Amid other documents, the parties sealed a protocol on applying special rates of import duties in cases of emergency. The Customs Union members may lower the import duties for a while if the acute shortage for a definite product is noticed. On the other hand, the duties will be hiked if protective measures are applied.
Besides, people in the government signed yesterday the protocols for tariff benefits and for the single system of tariff preference. “It should help fill the market, but it is no longer the protection policy, i.e. the protection of domestic producer,” commented Renaissance Capital analyst Elena Sharipova.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 01, 2008
|
|
|
