Russia Belarus Kazakhstan Customs Union Cancels Customs Border In July

　　 "Since Kazakhstan is located at the intersection of the trade channels of Central Asian countries, why not go out of the country in the economic field and expand the scope of influence?" This is perhaps the most frequently considered question of Kazakh President Nazarbayev when he was re elected as president for the fourth time in April 2011.

Just a few days after taking office, Nazarbayev signed the first presidential decree of his current term of office, creating a new "Ministry of Economic Integration" on the basis of the existing state departments. Its responsibility is to enable Kazakhstan to better cooperate with Central Asian countries in the economic field, and lead the economic and trade integration of Central Asia through its existing influence.

The former economic development and Trade From her long experience as a special representative in the negotiations on Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO and on the Russia Belarus Kazakhstan Customs Union, Minister Za Aitzanova can see that the Russian Belarus Kazakhstan Customs Union and accession to the WTO will be the first two steps for Kazakhstan to seek leadership in regional integration.

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, as Aitzanova said in an exclusive interview at the fourth Astana Economic Forum on May 4.

Central Asian Economic Union -- the next stop of the customs union

21st Century: As a newly established department, what is the main work of the Ministry of Economic Integration?

Aitzanova: So far, the main work of the Ministry of Economic Integration is to continue the tariff of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan alliance And continue to promote Kazakhstan's early accession to the WTO.

Specifically, on November 27, 2009, the heads of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed nine documents, including the Customs Code of the Customs Union, marking the official establishment of the Russian Belarus Kazakhstan Customs Union. Since January 1, 2010, the three countries have implemented a unified import tax rate (some commodities have a transition period); From July 1 of the same year, Russia and Belarus took the lead in canceling the customs border. By July 1 this year, the customs border between Russia and Kazakhstan will also be cancelled. Less than two months later, the customs union will no longer have customs border, that is, all goods imported from abroad can freely enter the Russian or Belarusian market through Kazakhstan.

Then, the customs union will enter the next stage of development. From July 1, 2011, the three countries will not only unify the customs territory, but also unify and coordinate the labor market and related macroeconomic policies. In the next stage, the customs union will develop into an economic union, which is the ultimate development goal for the three countries to achieve economic integration. At that time, the three countries will unify and coordinate foreign exchange policies economic policy And industrial support policies. To some extent, this economic union is similar to the EU. Last November, the three countries signed 17 agreements related to it, and basically reached agreement in the field of free currency circulation and financial services. However, referring to the experience of the EU, the formal establishment of the Central Asian Economic Union still needs some time and effort.

21st Century: If the goal is to establish an economic union in Central Asia, is the scope of the customs union

Will it be further expanded? Will Ukraine join the customs union?

Aitzanova: At present, all countries in Central Asia except Georgia have bilateral free trade agreements, and current trade cooperation is carried out under the framework of these agreements. The customs union is also open to all countries in Central Asia. As long as the country adjusts its trade policy to be consistent with the basic policy of the customs union, it can join the customs union.

At present, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan have both joined the WTO, while Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus are still in the process of applying for accession. Therefore, the three countries only negotiate in accordance with their own customs regulations when negotiating customs union, but countries that have joined the WTO should also ensure that the provisions of the customs union are consistent with their WTO commitments, This is difficult to do, especially the import tariff rate, which is a very technical problem, but has a huge impact, so we need to further study.

At the same time, the three countries are also continuing to negotiate their accession to the WTO, of course, as independent individual countries. But on many issues, we will reach agreement within the customs union while negotiating with the WTO.

Customs Union Attracts Investment

21st Century: As Kazakhstan's largest trading partner, can China benefit from the establishment of a customs union?

Aitzanova: That's for sure. In 2010, Kazakhstan's trade volume with China accounted for more than $20 billion, almost a quarter of the total trade volume of $90 billion. At the same time, investors from China are also the main investors in Kazakhstan's energy sector. The trade cooperation between the two countries is strong, fruitful and strategic, and the future development space will be greater.

As for the customs union, the obvious advantage is that all products exported by China can freely enter the Russian and Belarusian markets through Kazakhstan. That is, from a market of 16 million people to 168 million people, an increase of more than 10 times.

More importantly, the momentum of customs union is more conducive to attracting foreign investment. Because the abolition of tariffs at home and the setting of unified tariffs abroad will encourage investors from China, including overseas investors, to consider not only simple exports, but also to avoid tariff barriers, to transfer the production base to the customs union for local production and sales. At the same time, because the customs union has lowered import tariffs on parts and components, objectively encouraging foreign investors to invest in productive projects, and the unified market of the three countries has provided investors with a broader sales market, investment opportunities have increased.

In this sense, Kazakhstan is undoubtedly the best partner to undertake industrial transfer, because its tax rate is much lower than that of the other two countries, and we are now trying to simplify relevant procedures and optimize the business environment to attract more investment, especially from China.