Customs Union Of Russia And Kazakhstan Abolished Customs In July

"Since Kazakhstan is located in Central Asian countries

Just a few days after taking office, Nazarbayev signed the first presidential decree of his current term. On the basis of the existing state departments, the newly established Ministry of economic integration, whose responsibility is to make Kazakhstan better cooperate with the Central Asian countries in the economic field, and through its existing influence, leads the integration of economic and trade in Central Asia.

In charge of the Ministry of economic integration, Za Etezanova, Minister of the Ministry of economic development and trade of Kazakhstan, has seen from the experience of her participation in the negotiations on Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO and the customs union of Russia, Japan and Kazakhstan for a long time.

However, as a close neighbor and the largest economic and trade partner, China will undoubtedly gain more benefits in the process of Central Asian integration. When et Zano Va accepted an exclusive interview at the fourth Astana Economic Forum in May 4th,

Central Asian economic union

Reporter: what is the main work of the Ministry of economic integration as a newly established department?

Et Zano Va: so far, the main task of the Ministry of economic integration is to continue the consultative work of the customs union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Hakkas, and to continue to promote Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO as soon as possible.

In November 27, 2009, the heads of state of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan jointly signed 9 documents, including the customs union customs code, which marked the formal establishment of the customs union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan.

Since January 1, 2010, the three countries have adopted a unified import tax rate (some commodities have a pitional period). In July 1st of the same year, Russia and Belarus took the lead in lifting the border.

And by July 1st this year, Russia and Kazakhstan will also cancel the customs. In less than two months, the customs union will no longer have a boundary. That is to say, all goods imported from abroad can freely enter Kazakhstan or Russia's market through Belarus.

Then, the customs union will enter the next stage of development. Since July 1, 2011, the three countries should not only unify the border area, but also harmonize the labor market and relevant macroeconomic policies.

At the next stage, the customs union will develop into an economic alliance, which is the ultimate goal for the three countries to achieve economic integration, and the three countries will harmonize the foreign exchange policy, economic policy and industrial support policy.

This economic union is more or less the same as the European Union. In November last year, the three countries had signed 17 related agreements, which basically agreed on the free circulation of money and the field of financial services. However, referring to the experience of the European Union, the formal establishment of the Central Asian economic union still needs some time and effort.

Reporter: if the goal is to establish the economic alliance in Central Asia, will the scope of the customs union be?

Will it further expand? Will Ukraine join the customs union?

Et Zano Va: at present, all countries in Central Asia have free trade agreements with each other except Georgia. The current trade cooperation is carried out under the framework of these agreements.

The customs union is open to all countries in Central Asia. So long as the country adjusts its trade policy to the basic policies of the customs union, it can join the customs union.

At present, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan have joined the WTO, while Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus are still applying for the process of accession. Therefore, the three countries consulted the customs union only when they consulted their tariff regulations. However, the accession to the WTO countries also ensured that the customs union agreement was in line with its WTO commitments. This is difficult to achieve, especially the tariff rate of import duties. This is a very technical problem, but the impact is huge, so we need further study.

At the same time, the three countries are continuing to enter the WTO negotiations, of course, as an independent individual country to negotiate, but on many issues, when we negotiate with WTO, we will also achieve the same agreement within the customs union.

Customs union attracts investment

Reporter: is China, as Kazakhstan's largest trading partner, able to benefit from the establishment of the customs union?

Et Zano Va: that's for sure.

In 2010, Kazakhstan's trade volume with China amounted to more than US $20 billion, which amounted to almost US $90 billion, almost 1/4.

At the same time, investors from China are also the most important investors in Kazakhstan's energy field. The trade cooperation between the two countries is strong, fruitful and strategic, and there will be more room for future development.

Specifically, to the customs union, the obvious advantage is that all Chinese exports can be freely entered into the Russian and Belarus markets through Kazakhstan.

That is, the expansion from a 16 million person market to 168 million people has increased by more than 10 times.

More importantly, the momentum of the customs union is more conducive to attracting foreign investment.

Because the abolition of tariffs and the establishment of uniform tariffs on the outside will prompt investors from China and overseas to consider apart from simple exports, and to avoid tariff barriers, pfer production bases to the customs union and produce and sell locally.

At the same time, because the customs union has reduced import tariffs on parts and components, it has objectively encouraged foreign businessmen to invest in productive projects, and the unified market of the three countries has provided a broader market for investors, so investment opportunities have increased.

At this level, Kazakhstan is undoubtedly the best partner to undertake industrial pfer, because the tax rate in Kazakhstan is much lower than that in the other two countries, and we are now working hard to simplify the relevant procedures and optimize the business environment so as to attract more investment, especially from China.