Kyrgyzstan is a member of the customs union or not. Archive:Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan

The Customs Union is an agreement adopted by the members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the purpose of which is cancellation of customs payments in trade relations. Based on these agreements, common ways of carrying out economic activity, a platform for quality assessment and certification are being created.

This achieves abolition of customs control on the borders within the Union, general provisions for the regulation of economic activity for the external borders of the CU are concluded. In view of this, a common customs space is being created, using a generally accepted approach to the implementation of border controls. Another distinctive feature is the equality of citizens of the customs area during employment.

In 2018, the Customs Union consists of the next members of the EAEU:

• Republic of Armenia (since 2015);
• Republic of Belarus (since 2010);
• Republic of Kazakhstan (since 2010);
• Kyrgyz Republic (since 2015);
• Russian Federation (since 2010).

The desire to become a party to this agreement was voiced by Syria and Tunisia. In addition, it is known about the proposal to include Turkey in the CU agreement. However, no specific procedures have been adopted so far for the entry of these states into the ranks of the Union.

It is clearly seen that the functioning of the Customs Union is a good help for strengthening economic relations between countries located on the territory of the former Soviet countries. It can also be said that the approach established in the agreement by the participating countries speaks of restoration of lost ties in modern conditions.

Customs duties are distributed using a single shared distribution mechanism.

Given this information, it can be stated that the Customs Union, as we know it today, serves serious tool for the economic unification of the countries that are members of the EAEU.

To understand what the activities of the Customs Union are, it will not be superfluous to get an understanding of how it was formed to its current state.

The emergence of the Customs Union was initially presented as one of the steps in the integration of the CIS countries. This was evidenced in the agreement on the establishment of an economic union, signed on September 24, 1993.

Step by step moving towards this goal, in 1995, two states (Russia and Belarus) concluded an agreement between themselves on the establishment of the Customs Union. Later, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan also entered this group.

More than 10 years later, in 2007, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed a pact to unite their territories into a single customs region and establish the Customs Union.

In order to specify the previously concluded agreements, from 2009 to 2010 more than 40 additional agreements were concluded. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan decided that, starting from 2012, a Common Market due to the unification of countries into a single economic space.

On July 1, 2010, another important agreement was concluded, which launched the work of the Customs Code.

On July 1, 2011, the current customs control at the borders between countries was canceled and common rules were established at the borders with states that are not in an agreement. Until 2013, uniform legislative norms for the parties to the agreement are being formed.

2014 - The Republic of Armenia is a member of the Customs Union. 2015 - The Republic of Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Customs Union.

On January 1, 2018, a new unified Customs Code of the EAEU. It was created to automate and simplify a number of customs processes.

Territory and administration

The unification of the borders of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan has become the basis for the emergence of the Common Customs Space. This is how the territory of the Customs Union was formed. In addition, it includes certain territories or objects under the jurisdiction of the parties to the agreement.

The limit of the territory is the border of the Customs Union with third-party states. Moreover, the existence of a border near certain territories that are under the jurisdiction of the Member States of the Union is normatively fixed.

The Eurasian Economic Union is managed and coordinated by two bodies:

1. Interstate Council- the supreme body of a supranational nature, consists of heads of state and head of government of the Customs Union.
2. Commission of the Customs Union- an agency that deals with issues related to the formation of customs rules and regulates foreign trade policy.

Directions and conditions

By creating the Customs Union, the countries proclaimed the main goal social and economic progress. In the future, this implies an increase in trade and services that are produced by economic entities.

The increase in sales was originally expected directly in the space of the vehicle itself due to following conditions:

1. The abolition of customs procedures within the Union, which was supposed to make products manufactured within the framework of a single space more attractive, due to.
2. Increasing trade through the abolition of customs control at internal borders.
3. Adoption of uniform requirements and integration of security standards.

Achievement of goals and perspectives

Having collected the available information about the emergence and activities of the Customs Union, we can conclude that the results of increasing the turnover of goods and services are published much less frequently than let's say the news about the signing of new agreements, i.e. its declarative part.

But, nevertheless, analyzing the stated goals during the creation of the CU, as well as observing their implementation, one cannot remain silent that the simplification of trade has been achieved, the competitive conditions for economic entities of the CU states have been improved.

It follows from this that the Customs Union is on the way to achieving its goals, however, in addition to time, this requires the mutual interest of both the states themselves and economic elements within the Union.

The customs union is made up of countries that have the same economic past, but today these states are very different from each other. Of course, in Soviet times, the republics differed in their specialization, but after gaining independence, there were still a lot of changes that affect the world market and the division of labor.

However, there are also common interests. For example, many participating countries remain dependent on the Russian market. This trend is economic and geopolitical in nature.

All through the time leading positions in the process of integration and stabilization of the EAEU and the Customs Union played the Russian Federation. This was possible thanks to its stable economic growth until 2014, when commodity prices remained high, which helped to finance the processes launched by the agreements.

Although such a policy did not predict rapid economic growth, it nevertheless assumed the strengthening of Russia's position on the world stage.

The history of relations between the parties to the agreements is similar to a series of compromises that were built on the basis of the role of Russia and the positions of the partner countries. For example, there were repeated statements from Belarus about its priorities: a common economic space with the same prices for oil and gas, admission to public procurement of the Russian Federation.

To achieve these goals, the Republic went to increase tariffs on imported cars in the absence of its own production. Because of these measures, it was necessary to establish rules for certification of light industry goods which hurt the retail industry.

In addition, the standards adopted at the CU level were unified with the WTO model, despite the fact that Belarus is not a member of this organization, unlike Russia. Enterprises of the Republic have not received access to Russia's programs for import substitution.

All this served as obstacles for Belarus on the way to achieve its goals in full.

It should not be overlooked that the signed CU agreements contain various exceptions, clarifications, anti-dumping and countervailing measures that have become an obstacle to achieving common benefits and equal conditions for all countries. At various times, virtually every party to the agreement expressed disagreement with the terms of the agreements.

Although customs posts at the borders between the parties to the agreement were eliminated, preserved border zones between countries. Sanitary control at internal borders also continued. The absence of trusting relationships in the practice of interaction was revealed. An example of this is the disagreements that flare up from time to time between Russia and Belarus.

To date, it cannot be said that the goals that were declared in the agreement on the creation of the CU have been achieved. This can be seen from the decrease in the turnover of goods within the customs area. There are also no benefits for economic development compared to the time before agreements were signed.

But there are still signs that in the absence of an agreement, the situation would worsen more rapidly. The manifestation of the crisis would have had a larger and deeper character. A significant number of enterprises gain relative benefits by participating in trade relations within the Customs Union.

The methods of distributing customs duties among countries also indicate favorable trends for the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Initially, a large share in the budget of the Russian Federation was supposed.

The agreements signed by the parties benefited the production of cars. Duty-free sale of cars assembled by manufacturers of participating countries has become available. Thus, conditions have been created for the implementation of projects who previously could not be successful.

What is a Customs Union? Details are on the video.

The Customs Union is an interstate association between countries within the framework of the EAEU. The main purpose of the creation is to simplify trade operations between the states that are members of the association. The CU participants also adopted common customs tariffs and other regulatory measures.

The task of creating such an economic association:

• Formation of a single customs territory within the countries that entered the association.
• On the territory of the Customs Union of the EAEU, there are regimes of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on trade between member states.
• Cancellation of control at internal posts on the border of countries that are included in the CU.
• The use of the same type of mechanisms for regulating trade and the economy. For this, measures are being introduced to harmonize the legislation of the CU members.
• Implementation and functioning of a single governing body.

As for trade relations with countries that are not members of the Customs Eurasian Economic Union, the following interaction is expected with them:

1. The application of a common tariff for certain goods that enter the territory of the association.
2. Use of unified measures of non-tariff regulation.
3. Carrying out the same customs policy.
4. Use of uniform tariffs.

At the moment, the most famous and long-functioning is the European Customs Economic Union. Its formation began in 1958.

Members, Territory and Governance

At the moment, the association consists of the following countries:

• Russia since July 2010
• Kazakhstan since July 2010
• Belarus since July 2010
• Armenia since October 2015
• Kyrgyzstan since May 2015

Syria and Tunisia voiced their desire to join, it was proposed to become a member of Turkey, but so far no decision has been made on joining. It is clearly noticeable that participation in the bloc gives the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union the strengthening of economic relations.

The unification of the borders of the states indicated above became the basis for the formation of the considered customs association. The borders of the CU are the borders of the countries that are members of the union.

The governing bodies are the same, the main 2:

1. Interstate Council. This is the highest body, whose members are the heads of state and heads of governments of the CU countries. It is supranational.
2. TC Commission. This department solves all issues related to the formation of customs rules, is responsible for regulating the trade policy of states.

History of creation

The formation of the CU has become a lengthy and complex process in many respects. The member countries of the Customs Union 2019 are those states that have managed to go through all the stages of approvals and adjustments.

The process began in January 1997, when the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement "On measures to implement the agreements on the Customs Union." The need for such consolidation arose when it became clear that the USSR as a structure had gone into oblivion. Then the countries of the Customs Union (the list of 2019 proposed above) agreed to cooperate in order to form and develop a common economic space within the CIS.

Interesting! The idea of ​​creating the union was formed at the beginning of 1994 by Nursultan Nazarbayev. As the basis of the CU in his vision, the common interests of the states that were previously part of the USSR should have become.

The idea of ​​forming a union assumed the unhindered movement of goods and the provision of services to all participating countries. At the same time, the proposed format of economic contacts fully protected the interests of the countries of the Customs Union.

As a result, a single customs space was created without internal customs duties. Borders as such were transferred to the outer borders of the union. Ideally, trade was greatly simplified, but in reality everything turned out not so easy. at the first stage, the agreements included, among other things, the definition of the main areas of activity for each country to strengthen the union. More specifically:

1. Guaranteeing equal rights to the property of the Customs Union.
2. Members of the Eurasian Economic Union could freely dispose of the property of the CU within the limits of the legislation of the participating countries.
3. Creation of a unified regulatory framework for state regulation of the economy.

In the same 1997, the following integration departments were formed: the Interstate Council, the Integration Committee.

In 1998, Tajikistan became a member of the union, and an agreement “On the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space” was already signed between 5 countries. A few months later, the members of the Customs Union signed the following important documents:

• "On the Formation of the Customs Union".
• "On international road communications".
• "On uniform conditions for transit through the territories of the countries participating in the Customs Union."
• "On the interaction of energy systems".

In February 1999, the agreement "On the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space" was signed. Due to the adoption of these acts, it was possible to significantly simplify the procedures for border control between the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The next important steps are:

1. 2007 Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan conclude an agreement on a single customs territory.
2. year 2009. Agreements that were previously signed are given a "physical form", that is, they are being implemented in practice.
3. 2010 The Customs Code of the Customs Union adopted earlier comes into force, is formed and adopted.
4. During 2011-2013, important documents are being developed that regulate the activities of the union. Among the most important, there is a unified technical regulation on product safety.

2014-2015 were marked by the replenishment of the list of countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (for 2017 it is also relevant) with Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. In the future, the union will expand, at the moment Tunisia and Syria have expressed a desire to join, but so far the matter has not gone beyond talk and the composition remains the same.

In 2019, the previously adopted Customs Code of the EAEU came into force.

You will learn about the new Customs Code of the Customs Union of 2019 from our article. Go to .

Distribution of customs duties

The Unified Customs Union naturally receives duties for crossing the borders of the association, import/export of goods. The association has adopted a scheme for distributing these revenues among the member countries. The structure is like this:

• Russia receives 85.33% of total revenues.
• Kazakhstan - 7.11%.
• Belarus - 4.55%.
• Kyrgyzstan - 1.9%.
• Armenia - 1.11%.

As you can see, taxes are distributed according to seniority, that is, the earlier a country became a member of the association, the greater the amount of income from duties it can count on.

At the moment, there is a period of formation of the CU, so the EU customs union has gone through a long period of 30 years until the moment of absolute formation.

Goals, directions

When creating a detailed economic space, the main goal was socio-economic progress. As a result, one of the main long-term goals was to increase the turnover of services of the participating countries. To begin with, this moment was realized between the participants through the following actions:

1. Implementation of common requirements and adoption of safety standards for domestic economies and the association in general.
2. Abolition of procedures at the internal customs of the Union countries. Due to this, the goods of the countries of the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Community have become more accessible and attractive.
3. Increasing trade through the above measures.

At the moment, the desired increase in trade is not happening, although new agreements are regularly adopted. True, the simplification of trade did not happen so significantly, competitive conditions improved.

Technical regulation

Technical regulation in the Customs Union is aimed at achieving the following goals and objectives:

• Reducing the pressure on the manufacturer - economic and administrative.
• Formation of two-level regulatory documentation, which helps to make the relationship in the market clearer and clearer.
• Increasing the level of protection of markets from dangerous products.
• Empowering companies to choose a commercial solution. This excludes double certification and duplication of other procedures.
• Exclusion of technical barriers for members of the Eurasian Customs Union.
• Stimulating the development of the economy in various ways.

As for the principles of technical regulation in the customs association, there are the following basic principles:

1. Establishment of a unified technical regulation for the participating countries regarding products and goods.
2. Pursuing a policy that is agreed with each country regarding technical regulation.
3. Until the entry of the TR of the Eurasian Economic Union of the EAEU, the effect of national legislation in this area.

Benefits of participating in the TS

At the moment, not all countries of the EAEU have joined the CU, each has its own reasons. But the main advantages of participating in such an association should be highlighted:

• Significant reduction in costs for: processing, transportation of goods within the union.
• Reduction of bureaucratic procedures, and as a result, time costs when transporting goods across the territory of the Customs Union.
• Reducing the number that must be passed to travel with cargo to third countries.
• The customs union in 2019 provides new markets.
• Simplification of legislation due to its unification.

Contradictions, problems or why the TS does not work as planned

Since each country seeks to maintain and support its economy, it is not surprising that frictions and difficulties often arise. It is “convenient” to apply individual sanctions through the methods of non-tariff regulation, which is what is happening. Although the countries of the customs union with Russia in the period of 2018-2019 have already “befriended”, there were many problems before.

One of the most difficult conflicts between the Russian Federation and Belarus, when in 2014 Russia banned the export of meat almost in full. At that time it was 400 thousand tons. At the same time, there was a tightening of control over goods that cross the border of Belarus, although in fact, according to the norms of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, it is impossible to strengthen control measures.

The reaction of the president of the country participating in the Customs Union was not long in coming - Belarus returned border control on the border with the Russian Federation. The conflict has become a real problem, because Belarus has announced its intention to abandon the ruble in settlements and return to dollars. As a result, the idea of ​​a customs union was strongly shaken - the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union felt insecure in this format of relations.

Conclusion

In the future, the economic association of the Customs Union has a chance for active development and implementation of all the declared advantages. While the formation process is going on, in general terms, the most interested participants are the neighbors of the Russian Federation, which, with the entry, will receive more favorable conditions for the purchase of gas and oil. The declared simplification of trade turnover has not yet been observed.

Video: Customs Union 2019

Customs unions of several states over the course of many centuries have been one of the main factors in the convergence of the participating countries in matters of economy, trade, finance, and later, possibly, the political course. Already at the beginning of the 19th century, the German Customs Union was created from the majority of German states that agreed to abolish all customs barriers among themselves, and from the duties levied on the borders of the union territory to form a common cash desk. The European Union, one of the main economic and political associations of the modern world, also began as the Union of Coal and Steel, which later passed into the Customs Union, and then into the single market zone. Of course, the processes of these transitions were not without problems and contradictions, but common economic goals and political will tipped the scales in their favor.

Based on the foregoing, the desire of the former republics of the USSR, which entered the democratic path of development, to create a similar institution at the turn of the century is quite logical and justified. Four years after the collapse of the Union, the heads of three now independent states - Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus - signed a package of documents on the creation of the Customs Union, the purpose of which was the free movement of goods, services and capital within the borders of these countries, as well as the creation of a single course of trade , currency, customs and tax policy.

Despite the fact that since 1999 practical measures have been taken to create a single customs territory, single rates of customs duties and a single tariff and trade policy, the Single Customs Code began to be applied only in 2010 and, accordingly, it was from that moment that de facto existence began. Customs Union. The very next year, customs control on the borders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was abolished and transferred to the outer contour of the borders of the Customs Union. Kyrgyzstan is in the process of joining the union, and the governments of Tajikistan and Armenia are also thinking about joining. Starting from 2012, on the basis of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the Common Economic Space was created, the purpose of which was a more complete and efficient provision of goods, services, capital and labor across the borders of the CES member countries.

The relevance of the topic is due, first of all, to the fact that the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan became the first truly functioning integration association of states on the territory of the former USSR. Such an association was simply necessary in view of the fact that in our time the politicians of the states of the post-Soviet space are increasingly forced to implement joint management of the economy in conditions of managed integration. The reason for this is the various economic shocks in various CIS countries and the weakly tangible results of overcoming these shocks.

The purpose of this course work is to consider the Customs Union as a type of international economic organization. To achieve it, the following tasks are set:

• assessment of world experience in the creation of economic unions;
• consideration of the prerequisites for the creation and stages of the formation of the Customs Union;
• detection of economic problems of the Customs Union and proposal of ways to solve them.

1.1 Essence and stages of economic integration

In order to understand the goals and motives for creating the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, one must first understand the very essence of economic integration. This is a fairly high, effective and promising stage in the development of the world economy, a qualitatively new and more complex stage in the internationalization of economic ties. Economic integration leads not only to the convergence of national economies, but also provides a joint solution of economic problems. Consequently, economic integration can be represented as a process of economic interaction between countries, leading to convergence of economic mechanisms, taking the form of interstate agreements and coordinated by interstate bodies.

It should be noted that the majority of integration unions appeared relatively recently, over the past 50 years. Among them are the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Area NAFTA, the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and many others. All of them differ from each other both in terms of the level of interaction between the enterprises of the Member States, and in terms of the degree of merging of national economies. The Hungarian economist Bela Balassa identified five forms of economic integration, going from the lowest to the highest - a free trade area, a customs union, a single market, an economic union and a political union. However, at present there is no unanimity on the question of the number of these forms. Some scientists distinguish four or five stages, others six. Some believe that the transition from a monetary union to an economic union should also be celebrated, and some the other way around.

If we talk about the principles of the activities of integration groups, then they are: promoting trade; expansion of international and interregional cooperation, both in production and in financial, scientific and technical fields; development of international transport infrastructure . As a result, at the moment we have a huge volume of international movement of goods and services, gigantic flows of labor migration, the transfer of knowledge and ideas, and cross-border capital exchange. All this is impossible to imagine in a situation where each state conducts its economic activities independently. On the other hand, the scale and speed of all these processes cause heated discussions in the scientific community, which received a special response after the ratification of NAFTA in 1993. Among these discussions are questions about whether regional economic organizations are dangerous or useful for the liberalization of world trade, about the benefits of trade, and about the effectiveness of the model of global economic integration.

Continuing the theme of the expediency of economic integration, one should recall the article by R. Lipsey and C. Lancaster "The General Theory of the Second Best". Based on this work, despite the fact that only free trade leads to an efficient distribution of resources, as long as there are trade barriers against third countries, it is impossible to judge the economic effects for the countries participating in the integration group. It is concluded that a small reduction in tariffs is more likely to have a positive effect on the welfare of countries than the complete abolition of tariffs, which is typical, for example, for customs unions. However, this conclusion cannot be called unambiguously correct, since, other things being equal, the more local products are consumed within the country and the less imported, the more likely it is to improve its well-being as a result of the formation of a customs union. This improvement will be explained by the fact that the replacement of goods produced in the country with goods of countries participating in the customs union will lead to a trade creation effect, since the comparative advantages of national producers will be used in production. Thus, the customs union will stimulate trade between the participating countries, thereby increasing their well-being.

Thus, it can be concluded that the creation of a customs union does not provide any guarantees for the growth of the welfare of the member states, however, the introduction of common customs tariffs or a single currency can have positive effects, both in production and consumption.

Let us now consider examples of various economic integrations on the world stage and specifically on the territory of the former USSR.

As stated above, the first form of economic integration is the free trade area (FTA). Its main principle is the elimination of tariff and quantitative restrictions on trade between states. An FTA agreement is usually based on the principle of a mutual moratorium on tariff increases, following which partners do not have the right to unilaterally raise customs duties or erect new trade barriers. At the same time, each state has the right to determine its trade policy in relation to countries that are not members of the FTA independently. An example of an FTA at the global level is the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), whose members are the United States of America, Mexico and Canada. Among the points of the agreement on the creation of this FTA, which entered into force in 1994, are the elimination of customs tariffs and non-tariff barriers for industrial and agricultural goods, the development of common rules for investment, the protection of intellectual property rights and the resolution of trade disputes between participating countries. On the territory of Europe, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which currently includes Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Liechtenstein, can be considered as an FTA. Speaking about the FTA in the post-Soviet space, first of all it is worth mentioning the CIS Free Trade Zone, which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. In addition, after the collapse of the USSR, there also existed the Baltic Free Trade Area (created in 1993 between Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) and the Central European Free Trade Association (created in 1992, the participants are Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic). ), however, with the accession of the participating countries to the European Union, the agreements according to the FTA data have lost their force.

The next stage of economic integration, which is the most interesting for us in the context of this work, is the customs union (CU), which can be defined as an agreement between two or more states to abolish customs duties in trade between them. Based on the XIV General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the CU replaces several customs territories with one with the complete abolition of customs duties within the CU and the creation of a single external customs tariff. Note that customs unions are popular in developing countries, for example, all Latin American countries are members of the Customs Union, as well as the countries of Central and South Africa. The largest Customs Union in terms of area is the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which will be discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs of this paper. Also of note are the MERCOSUR South American Common Market (CU agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela) and the Benelux (unification of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg).

A higher level of integration is the single market. In the post-Soviet space, it exists in the form of the Common Economic Space created by the members of the CU of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. In the West, the main representative is the European Union (EU).

The Customs Union abolishes customs duties for member countries and develops a common customs policy for goods from third countries, thereby creating the prerequisites for the transition to a single market. However, for this transition it is necessary to implement some tasks that are not possible within the framework of the customs union. First of all, this is the development of a general policy for the development of individual sectors of the economy, in which it is necessary to take into account the degree of its importance for integration, as well as its impact on society and on changes in the needs and requirements of consumers. For example, when creating a single market in the EU, transport and agriculture were identified as the main such sectors. In addition, it is necessary to create conditions for the unhindered movement of services, capital and labor between participating States.

A controversial step in the classification of integration development is the monetary union. In addition to the already implemented agreements on a single market and a single monetary policy, a gradual transition to a common currency is added, respectively, a single central bank or a system of central banks is being organized, which conducts a currency and emission policy agreed between the participating countries. The advantages of a monetary union are obvious - reducing the cost of settlement services for transactions, greater price transparency, increased competition, and improved business climate. However, it is worth considering the different economic situation of the member countries of the monetary union, the differences in which can serve as a significant problem for its normal functioning. This is currently faced by the main monetary union - the Eurozone, which includes 18 EU countries and EU special territories. There are currently no currency unions in the post-Soviet space. Not so long ago, there were rumors about the imminent introduction of a single currency called "altyn" on the territory of the Common Economic Space, but the chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Viktor Khristenko denied these rumors.

The highest form of economic integration is an economic union, where the single market and monetary union operate under a common economic policy. An economic union is characterized by the emergence of supranational economic bodies, whose economic decisions become binding on the member countries of this union. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan plan to create the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) by 2015, which will be the first economic union in the post-Soviet space.

2. Prospects for the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan

2.1 Prerequisites and stages of the creation of the Customs Union

Despite the fact that the first agreement on the conclusion of the Customs Union was signed by the former Soviet republics in 1995, in order to trace the prerequisites for its creation, it is necessary to go back a little further into the past. Two years earlier, the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on the creation of an Economic Union. In this treaty, we are interested in Art. 4, which states that the Economic Union is being created through a gradual deepening of integration, coordination of actions in the implementation of economic reforms. It is here that the Customs Union appears for the first time as one of the forms of this integration.

The next step was the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Belarus "On a unified procedure for regulating foreign economic activity" dated April 12, 1994. This is the first example of the unification of customs legislation, which provided that the Republic of Belarus would introduce on its territory customs tariffs, taxes and fees for the import and export of goods that are completely identical to those on the territory of the Russian Federation. Thanks to this agreement, goods originating from the territory of Russia and Belarus could be moved from the customs territory of one of these states to the customs territory of the other without any restrictions and the collection of customs duties and taxes. It became a key step for the subsequent creation of the Customs Union.

Only a year later, on January 6, 1995, the Agreement on the Customs Union between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus was signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Less than a month later, on January 20, 1995, the Republic of Kazakhstan decided to join this agreement, and the agreement was signed simultaneously with Russia and Belarus, which acted as one side. In 1996 Kyrgyzstan joined these Agreements. It was in this agreement that the main goals of the creation of the Customs Union were identified:

• ensuring by joint actions the socio-economic progress of their countries by eliminating the dividing obstacles between them for free economic interaction between economic entities;
• guaranteeing the sustainable development of the economy, free trade and fair competition;
• strengthening the coordination of the economic policies of their countries and ensuring the comprehensive development of the national economy;
• creating conditions for the formation of a common economic space;
• creating conditions for the active entry of the member states of the Customs Union into the world market.

In 1997 between Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, an Agreement was concluded on common measures of non-tariff regulation in the formation of the Customs Union.

In 1999 Tajikistan joins this economic association and also joins the 1995 Customs Union Agreement.

One of the next major steps in bringing the Customs Union into effect was 1999, when the parties to the 1995 Customs Union Agreement signed the Treaty on the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. A whole chapter of three sections in it was devoted to the conditions for completing the formation of the Customs Union. Among them, the presence of a single customs territory and customs tariff; a regime that does not allow any tariff and non-tariff restrictions in mutual trade; uniform mechanisms for regulating the economy and trade, based on universal market principles of management and harmonized economic legislation; implementation of a unified customs policy and application of unified customs regimes; simplification and subsequent abolition of customs control at internal customs borders. Also, the agreement introduced the concept of a single customs territory and defined the executive body of the Customs Union, acting at the stage of its formation - the Integration Committee, located in Kazakhstan in the city of Almaty.
The next advance in the creation of the Customs Union came with the establishment in 2000 of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC). In Art. 2 of the agreement on its establishment clearly states that the EurAsEC is being created to effectively promote the process of formation by the contracting parties of the Customs Union.

October 6, 2007 a number of agreements were signed, which are fundamental in the creation of the Customs Union. First, changes were made to the Treaty establishing the EurAsEC, in accordance with which the supreme body of the Customs Union, the Interstate Council, was formed. It is both the supreme body of the EurAsEC and the supreme body of the Customs Union, but decisions on the issues of the Customs Union are made by members of the Interstate Council from the member states of the Customs Union. Also, the Protocol of October 6, 2007 on amendments to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community of October 10, 2000 expanded the competence of the EurAsEC Court, which received the right to consider cases on the compliance of acts of the Customs Union bodies with international treaties that form the legal framework of the Customs Union. Secondly, the Treaty on the Establishment of a Single Customs Territory and the Formation of the Customs Union consolidated the very concept of "Customs Union", as well as a list of measures necessary to complete the formation of the Customs Union. Thirdly, the Treaty on the Commission of the Customs Union established a new body - the Commission of the Customs Union - a single permanent regulatory body of the Customs Union, one of the principles of which is the voluntary gradual transfer of part of the powers of state bodies to the Commission.

In 2009, at the level of heads of state and government, about 40 international treaties were adopted and ratified, which formed the basis of the Customs Union, and on July 1, 2010, the Uniform Customs Code began to be applied on the territory of three states.

Based on all the above documents, two main conclusions can be drawn: despite the start of the actual work of the Customs Union since 2010, the possibility of its creation was legally fixed back in 1993, and the participating countries have been making decisions on its creation as a single bloc since 1995. In fairness, it is worth noting that the broad masses started talking about the Customs Union of the three states only when high turnovers on its creation were achieved, that is, approximately in 2009, although the idea of ​​the Customs Union of Russia and Belarus was widely known.

As for the reasons for creating the Customs Union, one of them was definitely the geopolitical situation. After the collapse of the USSR and the so-called “parade of sovereignties”, Russia found itself surrounded by integration associations such as NATO and the European Union. In addition, some neighboring countries, like Georgia and Ukraine, have also taken a pro-Western political vector. It became more and more difficult to resist them alone. Apparently, the leadership of our country has realized that in such conditions, further development is possible only if there are real allies, and the customs union is one of the best means of economic integration of states.

The second reason is economic. As you know, relatively recently, in 2012, Russia became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, negotiations on Russia's accession to this organization have been conducted since 1993, while the WTO chairmen did not give a firm refusal. In order not to waste time, the country's leadership decided to create a trade bloc, an alternative to the WTO. Given that at that time Belarus and Kazakhstan had zero chances to join the WTO, the creation of such a bloc was a success. In addition, there was a pragmatic interest of the three states: Russia received new sales markets, Kazakhstan - the reorientation of Chinese goods flows to itself with their subsequent direction to Russia, Belarus - duty-free receipt of energy resources (which, by the way, at some point in time became a stumbling block in negotiations between the three countries and even called into question the membership of Belarus in the Customs Union).

Perhaps there was also the idea that the trade advantages of the Customs Union would allow us to be self-sufficient in the production and trade of our goods, without experiencing problems from the lack of membership in the WTO of all three states. In the case of joining the WTO, it was assumed that it would be easier to do this as part of the "troika", subsequently Russia repeatedly voiced this fact as an argument for accelerating this process. However, as practice has shown, the economic situation in Kazakhstan and Belarus does not yet allow these states to become part of the WTO after Russia. And if in 2013, at that time, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said that Kazakhstan was at a fairly advanced stage of negotiations on WTO accession, then on the issue of Belarus, negotiations are very slow and may not be completed soon enough.

2.2 Problems of functioning of the Customs Union

The main factor in the creation of any trade union is the trade turnover between member states. As mentioned earlier, after the formation of regional trade unions, the process of reorientation of local consumers to internal integration sources begins. The closer the trade links between these sources, the more successful the union will be in terms of achieving integration goals.

Let us note a small pattern - the greater the weight of the trade union in world exports, the higher the share of mutual trade between its members in the total volume of the union's foreign trade. In this regard, the trade of the member countries of the Customs Union with each other is very much inferior to trade with third countries. Let's take for comparison the most successful example of modern economic integration - the European Union, the need to apply the experience of which in the process of Eurasian integration was repeatedly referred to by V. V. Putin and D. A. Medvedev. When the markets of the member states of the European Union united, this association was directed primarily inward. As a result, more than 60% of the foreign trade of the EU countries is directed to trade within the EU. It is this factor that distinguishes the development of Eurasian and European integration. Below are export data for some economic unions:

Table 2.2.1. Export of economic unions in 2013, %

Let's take the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) as a counter example. In this regional union, the volume of trade between the participating countries is extremely low and amounts to only 7.15%. Thus, we see that in the absence of strong intra-union trade ties, obstacles appear on the way to the development of economic integration.

In order to identify the next problem of the Customs Union, consider the largest trading partners of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2013.

Table 2.2.2. Main foreign trade partners of the CU and SES member states, 2013

According to the above table, it can be seen that the main trading partners of Belarus are Russia, the Netherlands and Ukraine. Kazakhstan is not even in the top ten and is only in 12th place.

Regarding Kazakhstan, one can see that its main trading partners are China, Russia and Italy. In this case, Belarus is even further away, in 23rd place.

As for Russia, its largest foreign trade partners are the Netherlands, China and Germany. None of the countries participating in the Customs Union entered the top three, Belarus is in fifth place, Kazakhstan is in 12th place.

As you can see, there is a fact that is very unpleasant for a regional association - the bilateral trading countries of the CU member states with some external trading partners are much more intense than with each other, which reduces the effectiveness of this union.

To further identify the problems of the Customs Union, we use the Trade Dependence Index (TII) - an indicator that represents the ratio of a country's foreign trade turnover to its GDP. The dynamics of this parameter will help to draw a conclusion about how much the Customs Union has increased and whether it has increased the mutual trade of the member countries.

Table 2.2.3. Trade dependence index for Russia, 2003-2013

Based on this table, we can conclude that since 2010 (the entry into force of the Unified Customs Code), Russia's indices in relation to Belarus and Kazakhstan have a tendency to increase, but very weakly expressed. Consequently, for Russia, the Customs Union did not become a turning point, radically affecting the extent of its trade with Belarus and Kazakhstan.

As for the FTI of Belarus, it can be seen from the table below that in relation to Russia, the volume of trade since 2010 has been on an upward trend. However, as far as Kazakhstan is concerned, it can be seen that during 2010 the index fell somewhat, and then the opposite trend was outlined. Based on the data, we can say that for Belarus, the Customs Union provides an opportunity to strengthen trade ties with Russia, but not with Kazakhstan.

Table 2.2.4. Trade dependency index for Belarus, 2003-2013

Regarding Kazakhstan, it can be noted that since the establishment of the Customs Union, the importance of trade with Russia and Belarus for it has increased, but not significantly. Data for Kazakhstan are shown in the table below:

Table 2.2.5. Trade dependency index for Kazakhstan, 2003-2013

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that among the three countries participating in the Customs Union, only one state, Belarus, makes a significant contribution to strengthening bilateral ties, which is not the best indicator for an integration association.

So, based on the analysis of mutual trade between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which is the main indicator of the degree of integration of a group of countries, we can say that the level of trade between the member countries of the Customs Union is still low. Consequently, the Customs Union at the moment cannot be considered a fully effective tool for foreign economic policy and increasing the volume of foreign trade.

2.3 Main directions of development of the Customs Union

Speaking about the prospects and the main methods and directions used in the development of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, it can be noted that, as mentioned above, the President and Prime Minister of Russia propose to act with an eye on the experience of the European Union. We will not question the competence of the higher officials of our country, but we note that it is not entirely correct to compare the European Union and the Customs Union. In the case of the European Union, initially there were several leading countries with approximately the same economic situation and balancing each other. In the case of the Customs Union, it is obvious that the level of economic development of Russia is much higher than those of Kazakhstan and Belarus. Therefore, it is not surprising that Russia has assumed the role of leader in the Eurasian integration association, and the Russian economy acts as the core of the integration process. In this situation, it is much more correct to compare the Customs Union with NAFTA, in which three countries also participate, and the United States of America plays the role of the central economy. The main similarity, which makes it possible to compare these integration groupings, is the serious differences in the socio-economic level of development of countries.

The well-known economist J. Magione, considering the processes of European integration from a critical standpoint in his monograph, notes that significant differences in the socio-economic level of the states participating in the integration process will necessarily lead to a different arrangement of political priorities. In this case, the harmonization of national legislations is inappropriate, but on the contrary, in order to improve the welfare of the member states of the integration group, differentiation of legal norms is necessary. J. Bhagwati and R. Hudek, in one of their works on free trade and the harmonization of national laws, also argued that centralized unification in some cases can worsen socio-economic indicators. Consequently, some traditional methods of integration, which include the centralized harmonization of the legal system that has been used in Europe, are untenable within the framework of the Customs Union.

Another important principle of European integration is economic and social solidarity, which involves equalizing the level of material well-being in all member countries of the European Union. In the case of the Customs Union, the main prospects for its expansion are related to the entry into it in the future of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The standard of living of the population of these countries is much lower than in Russia, Belarus or Kazakhstan, and as for the economic situation, the size of the economies of these states is not comparable with the economies of Kazakhstan and Belarus, not to mention Russia. Based on this, we again have the inapplicability of developing the integration of the Customs Union following the example of the European Union.

If we talk about the accession of new states to the number of members of the Customs Union, first of all it is worth mentioning Kyrgyzstan. Negotiations between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan with this country on joining the Customs Union have been going on since 2011, but from time to time they mark time for quite long periods of time. The main reason for such downtime is the so-called "road map" - a list of conditions that Kyrgyzstan insists on when joining the CU. The fact is that many representatives of the business community are afraid for some sectors of the country, which can be brought to bankruptcy. Among them is the re-export of Chinese goods. It is no secret that customs rates on many Chinese goods in Kyrgyzstan are zero or close to zero, which has allowed local entrepreneurs to create huge clothing markets, which are often visited by wholesalers from neighboring countries, including Kazakhstan and Russia. Several hundred thousand people work in such markets, and the loss of their jobs if the country joins the Customs Union also threatens with social unrest. That is why the government of Kyrgyzstan is asking to give the country's largest markets the status of free trade zones, provide temporary benefits for many commodity items, and also sign an agreement on the unimpeded movement of migrant workers within the Customs Union, which it considers as a "safety cushion" for the country. These conditions were recognized by the members of the Customs Union, especially Kazakhstan, as unacceptable, which even led to a temporary suspension of the integration process by Kyrgyzstan in December 2013. However, in March 2014, the first vice prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, Joormat Otorbaev, said that the road map had been amended, and that the country could join the Customs Union as early as this year. Whether this will be the case or not, time will tell.

As for Tajikistan, which is also considered one of the contenders for integration with the CU countries, then, despite the statements of President Emomali Rahmon about the seriousness of the intentions to enter into the Customs Union in 2010, negotiations have not yet begun. The country's government wants to make sure that this step is expedient, first of all, by evaluating the result of Kyrgyzstan's entry into the Customs Union. The geographical factor also plays a role here - Tajikistan does not have common borders with Russia, Belarus or Kazakhstan, but it borders on Kyrgyzstan. If Kyrgyzstan joins the Customs Union, the next contender will be Tajikistan, which was confirmed by Russian President V.V. Putin.

The political confrontation between Russia and the United States of America in some issues also plays a role in the possible accession of countries to the Customs Union. Thus, in October 2013, the Syrian government expressed its desire to join the Customs Union. According to Deputy Prime Minister Kadri Jamil, all the necessary documents have already been prepared, and negotiations with Russian partners have already been completed. At the moment, negotiations are underway with the parties of Belarus and Kazakhstan. Complicating the situation, as in the case of Tajikistan, is a geographical problem - Syria does not have common borders with any of the countries participating in the Customs Union.

A counterexample is the situation with Ukraine, in which the issue of integration with one of the associations - the Customs Union or the European Union - was acute. Despite the huge number of foreign trade operations with the CIS countries, in 2013 Ukraine refused to join the Customs Union, in turn, Russia considered Ukraine’s proposal for cooperation on the “3 + 1” type unacceptable, refusing selective benefits when trading with the union. In connection with the coup d'etat in Kyiv and the coming to power of a government aimed at integrating with Western countries, now the chance of the country joining the Customs Union can be considered almost zero. However, the situation in Ukraine is changing daily, and given the different moods of the eastern and western regions of the country, it is now very difficult to predict its decision on the further issue of integration.

In conclusion, I would like to note that in the development of the Customs Union it is extremely important to take into account all external players in the region. This confirms the thesis that Russia's accession to the WTO is a key factor in the process of Eurasian integration, since it will contribute to a more competent resolution of all issues arising in trade relations between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. According to Russia's obligations to the WTO, the members of the union must follow the rules of the global regulator of international trade. Also, the positive effect of Russia's accession to the WTO will manifest itself in increasing the compatibility of trade and economic relations in the post-Soviet space. Thus, it is completely unacceptable to consider scenarios for the development of the Customs Union without its accession to the WTO in the foreseeable future.

CONCLUSION

Only four years have passed since the entry into force of the Unified Customs Code and the transfer of the customs borders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to the external border of the Customs Union. Only two years ago, the transition to the Common Economic Space was made. Of course, in such a short period of time, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, even under the most favorable conditions, could not achieve a level of integration similar to the level of the European Union or NAFTA. At the moment, the gradual economic integration of the countries of the post-Soviet space is going quite steadily, but it takes time for tangible results. It is also necessary to remember that in the matter of the Customs Union, many, especially citizens of Belarus and Kazakhstan, are worried about the possible political background, the so-called return to the times of the USSR with Russia as the dominant state. That is why it is worth once again raising the issue of building the integration of the Customs Union, based on the experience of the NAFTA union, which has never pursued the goals of creating supranational bodies and developing new legislation, unlike the European Union. NAFTA's full compliance with the WTO rules in the field of capital regulation makes it possible to use it as a model for investment agreements within the Eurasian Economic Space.

Let us now draw some conclusions. To achieve maximum effects in regional integration, the Customs Union must satisfy at least three conditions: maintaining a high share of intra-regional trade in the total volume of foreign trade, that is, maintaining a high trade turnover between member countries; creation of deep industrial and technological cooperation between the participating countries; conducting a competent policy that takes into account the difference in the levels of socio-economic development of the participating countries.

Also, one should not forget about the significant differences between European and Eurasian integration, including:

1. different levels of intra-regional trade (the share of trade between EU member states in the total volume of foreign trade is many times higher than that in the Customs Union);
2. the absence of the so-called “core” in the European Union, the engines there are several countries balancing each other, when Russia is the main country in the Customs Union;
3. the small difference in the levels of economic development of the countries of the European Union is also not applicable to the Customs Union, where economic differences between countries are much higher;
4. the driving force behind the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus should be the economic benefit for these states, at this stage it is unacceptable to turn the economic union into a geopolitical one.

If the aforementioned differences are neglected and the development of the Customs Union is completely set at the rate of the European Union, it may lead to a situation where Russia simply becomes a donor state in a regional association.

As for the progress of the Customs Union in terms of joining new members, it can be assumed that over time, all the developing states of the post-Soviet space that are not part of another regional association will join the Common Economic Space. At the moment, states such as Tajikistan, Armenia and Syria are planning to apply to join the Customs Union. Questions about whether or not to join the Customs Union arise only for those states that have the option of joining another regional grouping, like Ukraine, which plans to join the European Union, or Kyrgyzstan, which has long thought about what would be more favorable for of the country's economy - integration into the Common Economic Space, or the preservation of customs privileges for the import of products from China.

Summing up, we can say that in the development of the Customs Union it is necessary to use a combined approach in borrowing the experience of Western regional groupings. At the same time, a prerequisite should be the commitment of all member countries to the norms and rules of the WTO in all economic relations in the field of trade in goods and services both within the Common Economic Space and beyond.

In the modern world, many countries unite in unions - political, economic, religious and others. One of the largest such unions was the Soviet one. Now we are seeing the emergence of the European, Eurasian and Customs Unions.

The customs union was positioned as a form of trade and economic integration of a number of countries, which provides not only a common customs territory for mutually beneficial trade with no duties, etc., but also a number of points regulating trade with third countries. This agreement was signed on 06.10.2007 in Dushanbe, at the time of its conclusion, the union included the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The first article of the agreement on the movement of goods within this territory says the following:

• Customs duty is not charged. And not only for goods of own production, but also for cargo from third countries.
• There are no economic restrictions, except for compensatory, anti-dumping ones.
• The countries of the Customs Union apply a single customs tariff.

Current countries and candidates

There are both permanent member countries of the Customs Union, which were its founders or joined later, and those that only expressed a desire to join.

Members:

• Armenia;
• Kazakhstan;
• Kyrgyzstan;
• Russia;
• Belarus.

Membership candidates:

• Tunisia;
• Syria;
• Tajikistan.

TC leaders

There was a special commission of the Customs Union, which was approved at the time of signing the agreement on the Customs Union. Its rules were the basis of the legal activities of the organization. The structure worked and remained within this legal framework until July 1, 2012, that is, until the creation of the EEC. The supreme body of the union at that time was a group of representatives of the heads of state (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian Federation), Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev (Republic of Kazakhstan) and (Republic of Belarus)).

At the level of heads of government, prime ministers were represented:

• Russia - Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev;
• Kazakhstan - Karim Kazhimkanovich Massimov;
• Belarus - Sergei Sergeevich Sidorsky.

Purpose of the Customs Union

The countries of the Customs Union, under the main goal of creating a single regulatory body, meant the formation of a common territory, which will include several states, and all duties on products are canceled on their territory.

The second goal was to protect our own interests and markets, first of all - from harmful, low-quality, as well as competitive products, which makes it possible to smooth out all the shortcomings in the trade and economic sphere. This is very important, since the protection of the interests of their own states, taking into account the opinions of the members of the union, is a priority for any country.

Benefits and prospects

First of all, the benefit is obvious for those enterprises that can easily carry out purchases in neighboring countries. Most likely, it will be only large corporations and companies. As for the prospects for the future, contrary to some forecasts of economists that the Customs Union would lead to a decrease in wages in the participating countries, at the official level, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan announced an increase in wages in the state in 2015.

That is why the world experience of such large economic formations cannot be attributed to this case. The countries that have joined the Customs Union are expecting a steady, if not rapid, growth of economic ties.

Treaty

The final version of the Agreement on the Customs Code of the Customs Union was adopted only at the tenth meeting, 26.10.2009. This pact spoke about the creation of special groups that would monitor the activities for the implementation of the revised draft treaty.

The countries of the Customs Union had until 01.07.2010 to amend their legislation to eliminate contradictions between this Code and the Constitution. Thus, another contact group was created to resolve issues related to differences between national legal systems.

Also, all the nuances related to the territories of the Customs Union have been finalized.

Territory of the Customs Union

The countries of the Customs Union have a common customs territory, which is determined by the boundaries of the states that have concluded the agreement and are members of the organization. The Customs Code, among other things, determines the expiration date of the commission, which came on July 1, 2012. Thus, a more serious organization was created, which has much more authority and, accordingly, more people in its staff in order to fully control all processes. On January 1, 2012, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EAEU) officially began its work.

EAEU

The Eurasian Economic Union includes the member countries of the Customs Union: the founders - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan - and the recently joined states, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.

The establishment of the EAEU implies a wider range of relationships in the freedom of movement of labor, capital, services and goods. Also, a coordinated economic policy of all countries should be constantly pursued, a transition should be made to a single

The total budget of this union is formed exclusively in Russian rubles, thanks to share contributions made by all member countries of the Customs Union. Their size is regulated by the supreme council, which consists of the heads of these states.

Russian has become the working language for the regulation of all documents, and the headquarters will be located in Moscow. The financial regulator of the EAEU is in Almaty, and the court is in the capital of Belarus, Minsk.

Union bodies

The supreme regulatory body is considered to be the Supreme Council, which includes the heads of the member states.

A judiciary has also been created, which is responsible for the application of treaties within the Union.

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is a regulatory body that ensures all the conditions for the development and functioning of the Union, as well as the development of new proposals in the economic sphere regarding the format of the EAEU. It consists of the Ministers of the Commission (deputy prime ministers of the member states of the Union) and the Chairman.

The main provisions of the Treaty on the EAEU

Of course, compared to the CU, the EAEU has not only broader powers, but also a much more extensive and specific list of planned activities. This document no longer has any general plans, and for each specific task the path for its implementation is determined and a special working group has been created that will not only monitor the implementation, but also control its entire course.

In the received contract the countries of the single Customs Union, and now the EAEU, have secured an agreement on coordinated work and the creation of common energy markets. The work on energy policy is quite large-scale and will be implemented in several stages until 2025.

The document also regulates the creation of a common market for medical devices and medicines by January 1, 2016.

Great importance is given to transport policy on the territory of the EAEU states, without which it will not be possible to create any joint action plan. The development of a coordinated agro-industrial policy is envisaged, which includes the mandatory formation of veterinary and phytosanitary measures.

Agreed provides an opportunity to translate into reality all the planned plans and agreements. Under such conditions, general principles of interaction are developed and the effective development of countries is ensured.

A special place is occupied by labor, which regulates not only the free movement of labor, but also the same working conditions. Citizens who go to work in the EAEU countries will no longer need to fill out migration cards (if their stay does not exceed 30 days). The same simplified system will apply to medical care. The issue of exporting pensions and offsetting the length of service that has been accumulated in a member state of the Union is also being resolved.

Expert opinions

The list of countries of the Customs Union in the near future may be replenished with several more states, but, according to experts, in order to notice a full-fledged growth and influence on Western similar unions by type, a lot of work and expansion of the organization is needed. In any case, the ruble will not be able to become an alternative to the euro or the dollar for a long time, and the impact of recent sanctions has clearly shown how Western politics can work to please their interests, and that neither Russia nor the whole Union can actually do anything about it. . As for Kazakhstan and Belarus specifically, the conflict in Ukraine has shown that they will not give up their benefits in favor of Russia. Tenge, by the way, also fell sharply due to the fall of the ruble. And on many issues, Russia remains the main competitor of Kazakhstan and Belarus. However, at the moment, the creation of the Union is an adequate and the only right decision that can help somehow strengthen relations between states in the event of further pressure from the West on Russia.

Now we know which countries in the Customs Union are more interested in its creation. Despite the fact that even at the stage of its inception it was constantly haunted by all sorts of problems, joint coordinated actions of all members of the Union make it possible to solve them as quickly as possible, which makes it possible to look to the future with optimism and hope for the rapid development of the economies of all states participating in this treaty.

The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization of regional economic integration with international legal personality and established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. The EAEU ensures the freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labor, as well as the conduct of a coordinated, coordinated or unified policy in the sectors of the economy.

The member states of the Eurasian Economic Union are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation.

The EAEU was created for the purpose of comprehensive modernization, cooperation and increasing the competitiveness of national economies and creating conditions for stable development in order to improve the living standards of the population of the member states.

Customs Union of the EAEU

The Customs Union of the EAEU is a form of trade and economic integration of the participating countries, providing for a single customs territory, within which customs duties and economic restrictions are not applied in mutual trade in goods, with the exception of special protective, anti-dumping and countervailing measures. At the same time, the member countries of the Customs Union apply uniform customs tariffs and other regulatory measures when trading with third countries.

The unified customs territory of the Customs Union consists of the territories of the member countries of the Customs Union, as well as artificial islands, installations, structures and other objects in respect of which the Member States of the Customs Union have exclusive jurisdiction.

Member countries of the Customs Union:

• Kazakhstan - from July 1, 2010
• Russia - from July 1, 2010
• Belarus - from July 6, 2010
• Armenia - since October 10, 2014
• Kyrgyzstan - since May 8, 2015

Officials of the member states of the Customs Union have repeatedly stated that they consider this organization as open to the entry of other countries. Negotiations are already underway with some countries to join the Customs Union, so it is likely that the territory of the Customs Union will be significantly expanded in the near future.

Technical regulation in the EAEU Customs Union

Technical regulation is one of the key elements of the integration of the member states of the Customs Union.

The mechanisms incorporated in technical regulation make it possible to eliminate numerous, in many cases artificially created, technical barriers to trade, which are a serious problem for business. This is facilitated by the legal framework created over the past few years, including thanks to the efforts of specialists from the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Within the framework of the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Community, the following main international treaties have been adopted to date, designed to simplify the movement of goods on the territory of the member states:

• Agreement on the implementation of a coordinated policy in the field of technical regulation, sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary measures;
• Agreement on unified principles and rules of technical regulation;
• Agreement on the basics of harmonization of technical regulations;
• Agreement on the use of the Unified Mark of Products Circulation on the Market of the EAEU Member States;
• Agreement on the creation of an information system of the EAEU in the field of technical regulation, sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary measures;
• Agreement on the circulation of products subject to mandatory assessment (confirmation) of conformity in the territory of the Customs Union;
• Agreement on mutual recognition of accreditation of certification bodies (conformity assessment) and testing laboratories (centers) performing work on conformity assessment.

You can get detailed information about technical regulation in the Customs Union of the EAEU from a specially prepared brochure prepared by specialists of the Eurasian Economic Commission:

Brochure of the Eurasian Economic Commission (PDF, 3.4 MB)

Member States of the Customs Union

The Customs Union (CU) is an official association based on the agreement of the participating countries on the abolition of customs borders between them, and, accordingly, the abolition of duties. Also, the basis for the functioning of the union is the use of a single tariff for all other states. As a result, the Customs Union created a huge unified customs territory, within which goods are moved without the cost of crossing customs borders.

Although the Customs Union was legally created in 2010, it actually began to work only on July 1, 2011, when the acts on the creation of a single customs territory came into force in the participating countries, and all control and regulatory bodies were created and began to work. At the moment, five states are members of the Customs Union - Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. Several more countries are official candidates for membership in the organization or are considering this step.

Russia

The Russian Federation is the initiator and the basis of the CU. This country has the most powerful economy among all participating countries, and within the framework of the Union it has got the opportunity to increase the competitiveness of its products within the common market, which, according to experts, will give it additional profit in less than 10 years, totaling $ 400 billion.

Kazakhstan

For Kazakhstan, participation in the Customs Union is first of all good because it made it possible to enter the union, which gives a total of up to 16% of world grain exports. Working in the same field, Kazakhstan and Russia got the opportunity to significantly influence the world grain market, changing its conditions in their favor. In addition, the rapidly developing agricultural industry of Kazakhstan in this way managed to significantly strengthen its position in the Russian Federation and other countries of the association.

Belarus

For Belarus, which has long been partly integrated with Russia into a single customs and economic field, participation in the Customs Union allowed expanding the geography of preferential supplies of its products to several more countries, and also increased the inflow of investments, in particular, from Kazakhstan. According to experts' forecasts, participation in the CU annually brings Belarus up to $2 billion in additional profit.

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan

These countries have recently become members of the Customs Union. Their involvement made it possible to further strengthen the association's position in the global energy market. These same countries have been granted preferential access to markets whose aggregate volume far exceeds their economic capacity, so they predict an acceleration in GDP growth and general welfare of the population.

On the whole, the Customs Union is viewed as a mutually beneficial economic partnership of geographically and mentally close countries that have equal rights and opportunities within the association. Given the prospects for new members to join, we can expect that in the near future the CU will become an even more powerful and influential economic bloc.

Eurasian Union

Eurasian Union is an integration project in the Eurasian space, the purpose of which is the economic and political rapprochement of the post-Soviet countries (at the same time, this association can potentially attract many other Eurasian countries outside the former USSR). To date Eurasian integration implemented in the form of a number of unions at various levels, the most important of which are the Customs Union of the EAEU and the Eurasian Economic Union.

On May 29, 2014, on the basis of the Customs Union and the CES, a more advanced form of integration was created - Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU, EurAsEC), which began its work on January 1, 2015. Belarus chaired the EAEU in 2015, and Kazakhstan in 2016.

At the EAEU level, a common market of 183 million people was formed. The allied states - Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, as well as Armenia and Kyrgyzstan - pledged to guarantee the free movement of goods and services, capital and labor, as well as to implement a coordinated policy in energy, industry, agriculture, and transport.

[edit] History of Eurasian integration

In ancient times, on the territory of Eurasia in the regions of present-day Central and Central Asia, Southern Siberia, the Black Sea region, the Caucasus and the South of European Russia, there were large state formations of a number of peoples. It is in this Eurasian area, according to the most common hypotheses, that the historical ancestral homelands of the Indo-Europeans are located (Slavs, Armenians, Ossetians, Tajiks, etc. belong to the Indo-European peoples), Turks (Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Tatars, Uzbeks, etc.) and Finno-Ugric peoples ( Karelians, Mordvins, Udmurts, Mari, Komi, etc.). Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Turks, Khazars, Mongols created their state-empires in the space of Eurasia.

Since the 16th century, Russia has become the largest state in the Eurasian space (in the 20th century, the Soviet Union). With the advent of Russia to Eurasia, it became possible to unite this most important geopolitical region on the basis of agriculture and industrial production, while the Eurasian traditions of cattle breeding and nomadic economy were largely preserved. The disintegration of the USSR in the 1990s disrupted the established economic ties, which led to a deep and protracted socio-economic crisis, from which some post-Soviet states have not yet emerged. It is quite characteristic that Kazakhstan and some other Asian republics of the USSR resisted the collapse of the Soviet Union to the greatest extent.

The initiator of the Eurasian reintegration can rightfully be considered the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who presented in March 1994 a draft of the Eurasian Union, which at the first stage was to include Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. However, at that time, the destructive political processes in the post-Soviet space were still too strong, and full-fledged integration had to be postponed. However, the unification process has begun. In 1995, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and a little later Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan signed the first agreement on plans to create a customs union.

Full-fledged Eurasian integration became possible with the coming to power in Russia of Vladimir Putin, who supported the ideas of Nursultan Nazarbayev; they were also supported by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko (by January 26, 2000, the Union State of Russia and Belarus was created as a special integration association).

[edit] Timeline of integration

• October 10, 2000- in Astana (Kazakhstan), the heads of state (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) signed the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC). The Treaty lays down the concept of close and effective trade and economic cooperation to achieve the goals and objectives defined by the Treaty on the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. The EurAsEC has become the first effective organization to ensure the integration process in the Eurasian space.

• May 30, 2001- came into force an agreement on the creation EurAsEC as part of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In 2006-2008 Uzbekistan also participated in the EurAsEC, since 2002 Ukraine and Moldova have received observer status, and since 2003 - Armenia.

• February 23, 2003- The presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine announced their intention to form the Common Economic Space (CES).

• October 6, 2007- Dushanbe (Tajikistan) hosted the EurAsEC summit, which adopted the concept of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Created Commission of the Customs Union- a single permanent regulatory body of the EurAsEC Customs Union (in 2012, powers were transferred to the Eurasian Commission).

• July 6, 2010- entered into force agreements on Customs Union (CU) as part of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, earned Uniform Customs Code.

• December 9, 2010- Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed all 17 documents on the creation Common Economic Space (CES)(agreements on uniform competition rules, on the regulation of agricultural support and industrial subsidies, on the regulation of railway transport, services and investments, on the protection of intellectual property, on the rules of technical regulation, on public procurement, on the status of migrants and counteracting illegal migration from third countries , on a coordinated macroeconomic and monetary policy, on the free movement of capital, on the regulation of natural monopolies and access to their services, on the creation of a single market for oil and oil products).

• July 1, 2011- earned Single customs territory Customs Union: on the borders of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, customs control was canceled (it was transferred to the outer contour of the borders of the Customs Union).

• October 18, 2011- in St. Petersburg, following a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth countries, the Treaty on CIS free trade zone. The FTA of the CIS provides for "minimization of exceptions from the nomenclature of goods to which import duties are applied", export duties should be fixed at a certain level, and subsequently phased out.

• November 18, 2011- an agreement was signed on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

• January 1, 2012- as a result of the entry into force of the relevant treaty, a Common Economic Space (SES) as a common market, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (since 2014 - CES of the Eurasian Economic Union), has earned Eurasian Commission. The task of the CES is to ensure the "four freedoms" - the movement of goods, capital, services and labor - as well as to ensure the beginning of the coordination of the economic policies of the member states in relation to macroeconomics, finance, transport and energy, trade, industry and agriculture.

• September 20, 2012- an agreement entered into force FTA CIS between Belarus, Russia and Ukraine - the first three countries to ratify it. In 2012-2013 Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova also ratified the agreement, Uzbekistan joined the FTA in a special order, and Tajikistan, although it signed the agreement, did not ratify it.

• May 29, 2014- Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

• October 10, 2014- Armenia joined the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. The EurAsEC organization was liquidated in connection with the fulfillment of its mission and the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.

• December 23, 2014- Kyrgyzstan joined (signed accession agreements) to the Eurasian Economic Union. The accession of Armenia to the EAEU has been approved.

• January 1, 2015- the agreement on the EAEU came into force, thus Eurasian Economic Union established.

• May 8, 2015- Presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia signed documents on the accession of Kyrgyzstan to the Treaty on the EAEU.

• May 14, 2015- Iran plans to join the free trade zone with the EAEU

• May 25, 2015 - an agreement on a free trade zone between the EAEU and Vietnam was signed.

• May 27, 2015- Egypt has applied for a free trade zone with the EAEU.

• August 12, 2015- The Eurasian Union has canceled the customs border with Kyrgyzstan.

[edit] Eurasian Economic Union

On May 29, 2014, in Astana, the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which will enter into force on January 1, 2015. On October 10, 2014, Armenia joined the union (accession agreements were signed), and on December 24, 2014, Kyrgyzstan joined (accession agreements were also signed).

Thus, at the moment, the formation of a common market of 183 million people has been completed, integration is intensifying compared to integration at the level of the Customs Union. The Allied States undertake to guarantee the free movement of goods and services, capital and labor, as well as to implement a coordinated policy in key sectors of the economy: energy, industry, agriculture, and transport.

[edit] Composition of the EAEU

• Armenia(since October 10, 2014)
• Belarus(since May 29, 2014)
• Kazakhstan(since May 29, 2014)
• Kyrgyzstan(since December 23, 2014)
• Russia(since May 29, 2014)

• Moldova- has the status of an observer state at the Eurasian Economic Union (since April 14, 2017)

Other potential participants

• Tajikistan- In 2012, he announced his intention to join the CU and the EAEU after Kyrgyzstan.
• Mongolia

On July 21, 2015, Syria announced its desire to join the EAEU. On August 11, 2016, Tunisia also announced a similar intention through the mouth of its ambassador to the Russian Federation.

[edit] Integration levels

[edit] Common Economic Space

On January 1, 2012, the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was created, which at that time became the closest form of integration of these countries. The key points of the CES agreements have been in operation since July 2012. The customs union is part of the CES agreements.

The CES is designed to ensure the freedom of movement of goods, capital, services and labor between member states. Also, the goal is to ensure the beginnings of coordination of macroeconomics and the financial sector, transport and energy, trade, industrial and agro-industrial complexes and other important areas of the economy.

The composition of the CES is the same as that of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia). Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Abkhazia also express interest in joining the CES.

[edit] Customs union

Customs Union of the EAEU(until 2014 - the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Community, the CU of the EurAsEC) is one of the forms of economic integration in the post-Soviet space. In the people and the media, this organization is simply referred to as "TS". It is the term "Customs Union" in 2010-2014. most often mentioned in the media when discussing economic integration in the post-Soviet space.

The main body of the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia is the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which includes the heads of state and government of the Customs Union. At the level of heads of state, the council meets at least once a year, at the level of heads of government - at least twice a year. Decisions are made by consensus and become binding on all participating States.

Since January 1, 2012, the functions of the regulatory body have been performed by the Eurasian Economic Commission.

[edit] Composition

Currently, the Customs Union includes the following states:

[edit] TC Candidates

• Tajikistan- In 2012, he announced his intention to join the CU and the EAEU after Kyrgyzstan. The entry of Kyrgyzstan was delayed, but it took place. Negotiations with Tajikistan are also dragging on.
• Mongolia- announced its intention to join the CU and the EAEU in 2016.
• Moldova- April 14, 2017 received the status of an observer state at the Eurasian Economic Union. Since, as of 2017, in Moldova, the president is in favor of Eurasian integration, while the parliament is against it, the further fate of integration with Moldova depends on the development of the internal situation in this country.
  • Gagauzia- at a referendum held in 2014, she advocated joining the Customs Union. It should be noted that the Gagauz autonomy is not an independent country either de jure or de facto. It is an autonomous republic within Moldova.

• Syria- also announced its desire to join the Customs Union back in 2010. At present, the signing of an agreement on a free trade zone between Syria and the Customs Union is being prepared.

A number of unrecognized or partially recognized states also want to join the CU (due to their status, they face obstacles in the implementation of their intentions):

• Abkhazia- February 16, 2010 informally announced its desire to enter the Customs Union.

• South Ossetia- October 15, 2013 announced its intention to join the Customs Union.

• Donetsk People's Republic

• Luhansk People's Republic- in 2014 announced its intention to join the Customs Union.

• Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic- February 16, 2012 announced its intention to join the Customs Union.

Former potential candidates

• Ukraine- according to its long tradition, the Ukrainian leadership tried to sit on two chairs at the same time, drawing closer to both the European Union and the Customs Union, but the CU member states made it clear that such a development of events is unacceptable. At present, the issue of joining the Customs Union has been stalled due to the civil war in Ukraine. The current Ukrainian leadership has set a course for the so-called "European association", which involves the introduction of European rules and regulations in Ukraine, as well as the opening of the domestic market for European manufacturers. In fact, this is ruining and in many ways has already ruined the remnants of high-tech industry in Ukraine (Ukrainian exporters lost 29% of exports to Russia in 2014, missing $3.9 billion, while exports to the EU grew by only $1 billion (mainly in agriculture). ).

[edit] Free trade zone

On September 20, 2012, the Commonwealth Free Trade Area (CIS FTA) between Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, which ratified the agreement, was launched. In 2012-2013 Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova also ratified the agreement, Uzbekistan joined the FTA in a special order, and Tajikistan signed the agreement, but has not yet ratified it.

The free trade area provides for "minimizing exceptions to the range of goods subject to import duties," and export duties must first be fixed and then phased out.

Agreements on a free trade zone were also signed bilaterally by individual EAEU countries with Serbia (the free trade regime between Serbia and Russia has been in effect since 2000, with Belarus since March 31, 2009, and with Kazakhstan since October 7, 2010). The agreement with Vietnam was signed on May 25, 2015. On May 27, 2015, Egypt filed an application for an FTA with the EAEU.

In 2014, it was planned to sign a similar free trade zone agreement with New Zealand (now questionable due to New Zealand's participation in anti-Russian sanctions). Negotiations are also underway to conclude such agreements with the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) , Israel, India, Syria, Montenegro and a number of Latin American countries.

In total, up to 40 countries intend to join the free trade zone with the EAEU, about 50 countries expressed their desire to cooperate with the EAEU as of the beginning of 2017.

[edit] Signatories of the FTA

• Vietnam- the agreement was signed on May 29, 2015. Entered into force 60 days after ratification in accordance with national legislation by all EAEU countries and Vietnam. The law on ratification of the FTA agreement was signed on May 2, 2016 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. On May 31, the law on ratification of the FTA agreement was signed by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, on June 2 - by President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev.

[edit] FTA under negotiation

• Egypt- the application was submitted on May 27, 2015.
• Thailand- On April 1, 2016, Russia and Thailand began negotiations on the creation of a free trade zone.
• Iran Negotiations started in 2015.
• Mongolia- will begin the stage of negotiations on a free trade area and possible accession from autumn 2016.
• Serbia- is negotiating the creation of an FTA with the EAEU

[edit] Expressed interest in cooperation

[edit] What gives accession to the EAEU

The EAEU is designed to improve economic interaction and significantly simplify the life of citizens of the Eurasian countries in a number of ways:

• Customs control procedures will be relaxed or removed.
• Economic, transport, energy and migration policies will be coordinated.
• Legislation regarding business and trade will be partially unified.
• On June 19, 2015, it was announced that international roaming would be canceled on the territory of the EAEU.

[edit] Western reaction

Western politicians are by no means enthusiastic about the prospect of economic and political reintegration in the post-Soviet space. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, said that "the US will try to prevent the re-creation of the Soviet Union."

The only thing the United States has so far achieved in preventing Eurasian integration is the organization of a coup d'état in Ukraine in February 2014, as a result of which the country actually collapsed during the Ukrainian crisis. At the same time, a suicidal course was imposed on the part of Ukraine that remained under the control of American puppets to break economic ties with the Russian Federation and “European association” with the EU. The collapse of the Ukrainian industry and a serious energy crisis were clearly manifested already in 2014.

Despite such unequivocal intentions and actions of the United States, European political scientists believe that Russia in the next 20-30 years will be able to expand its borders to about Soviet size.

Putin, meanwhile, does not miss an opportunity to poke fun at the Europeans who are now suffering from separatist sentiments, hinting at an invitation to the Customs Union of certain European countries. Nazarbayev admits Turkey's involvement in the Eurasian integration.

Customs Union countries: list

In the modern world, many countries unite in unions - political, economic, religious and others. One of the largest such unions was the Soviet one. Now we are seeing the emergence of the European, Eurasian and Customs Unions.

The customs union was positioned as a form of trade and economic integration of a number of countries, which provides not only a common customs territory for mutually beneficial trade with no duties, etc., but also a number of points regulating trade with third countries. This agreement was signed on 06.10.2007 in Dushanbe, at the time of its conclusion, the union included the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The first article of the agreement on the movement of goods within this territory says the following:

• Customs duty is not charged. And not only for goods of own production, but also for cargo from third countries.
• There are no economic restrictions, except for compensatory, anti-dumping ones.
• The countries of the Customs Union apply a single customs tariff.

Current countries and candidates

There are both permanent member countries of the Customs Union, which were its founders or joined later, and those that only expressed a desire to join.

Membership candidates:

TC leaders

There was a special commission of the Customs Union, which was approved at the time of signing the agreement on the Customs Union. Its rules were the basis of the legal activities of the organization. The structure worked and remained within this legal framework until July 1, 2012, that is, until the creation of the EEC. The supreme body of the union at that time was a group of representatives of the heads of state (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian Federation), Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev (Republic of Kazakhstan) and Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (Republic of Belarus)).

At the level of heads of government, prime ministers were represented:

• Russia - Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev;
• Kazakhstan - Karim Kazhimkanovich Massimov;
• Belarus - Sergei Sergeevich Sidorsky.

Purpose of the Customs Union

The countries of the Customs Union, under the main goal of creating a single regulatory body, meant the formation of a common territory, which will include several states, and all duties on products are canceled on their territory.

The second goal was to protect our own interests and markets, first of all - from harmful, low-quality, as well as competitive products, which makes it possible to smooth out all the shortcomings in the trade and economic sphere. This is very important, since the protection of the interests of their own states, taking into account the opinions of the members of the union, is a priority for any country.

Benefits and prospects

First of all, the benefit is obvious for those enterprises that can easily carry out purchases in neighboring countries. Most likely, it will be only large corporations and companies. As for the prospects for the future, contrary to some forecasts of economists that the Customs Union would lead to a decrease in wages in the participating countries, at the official level, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan announced an increase in wages in the state in 2015.

That is why the world experience of such large economic formations cannot be attributed to this case. The countries that have joined the Customs Union are expecting a steady, if not rapid, growth of economic ties.

Treaty

The final version of the Agreement on the Customs Code of the Customs Union was adopted only at the tenth meeting, 26.10.2009. This pact spoke about the creation of special groups that would monitor the activities for the implementation of the revised draft treaty.

The countries of the Customs Union had until 01.07.2010 to amend their legislation to eliminate contradictions between this Code and the Constitution. Thus, another contact group was created to resolve issues related to differences between national legal systems.

Also, all the nuances related to the territories of the Customs Union have been finalized.

Territory of the Customs Union

The countries of the Customs Union have a common customs territory, which is determined by the boundaries of the states that have concluded the agreement and are members of the organization. The Customs Code, among other things, determines the expiration date of the commission, which came on July 1, 2012. Thus, a more serious organization was created, which has much more authority and, accordingly, more people in its staff in order to fully control all processes. On January 1, 2012, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EAEU) officially began its work.

The Eurasian Economic Union includes the member countries of the Customs Union: the founders - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan - and the recently joined states, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.

The establishment of the EAEU implies a wider range of relationships in the freedom of movement of labor, capital, services and goods. Also, a coordinated economic policy of all countries should be constantly carried out, a transition to a single customs tariff should be carried out.

The total budget of this union is formed exclusively in Russian rubles, thanks to share contributions made by all member countries of the Customs Union. Their size is regulated by the supreme council, which consists of the heads of these states.

Russian has become the working language for the regulation of all documents, and the headquarters will be located in Moscow. The financial regulator of the EAEU is in Almaty, and the court is in the capital of Belarus, Minsk.

Union bodies

The supreme regulatory body is considered to be the Supreme Council, which includes the heads of the member states.

A judiciary has also been created, which is responsible for the application of treaties within the Union.

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is a regulatory body that ensures all the conditions for the development and functioning of the Union, as well as the development of new proposals in the economic sphere regarding the format of the EAEU. It consists of the Ministers of the Commission (deputy prime ministers of the member states of the Union) and the Chairman.

The main provisions of the Treaty on the EAEU

Of course, compared to the CU, the EAEU has not only broader powers, but also a much more extensive and specific list of planned activities. This document no longer has any general plans, and for each specific task the path for its implementation is determined and a special working group has been created that will not only monitor the implementation, but also control its entire course.

In the resulting agreement, the countries of the single Customs Union, and now the EAEU, secured an agreement on coordinated work and the creation of common energy markets. The work on energy policy is quite large-scale and will be implemented in several stages until 2025.

The document also regulates the creation of a common market for medical devices and medicines by January 1, 2016.

Great importance is given to transport policy on the territory of the EAEU states, without which it will not be possible to create any joint action plan. The development of a coordinated agro-industrial policy is envisaged, which includes the mandatory formation of veterinary and phytosanitary measures.

A coordinated macroeconomic policy provides an opportunity to translate into reality all the planned plans and agreements. Under such conditions, general principles of interaction are developed and the effective development of countries is ensured.

A special place is occupied by the common labor market, which regulates not only the free movement of labor, but also the same working conditions. Citizens who go to work in the EAEU countries will no longer need to fill out migration cards (if their stay does not exceed 30 days). The same simplified system will apply to medical care. The issue of exporting pensions and offsetting the length of service that has been accumulated in a member state of the Union is also being resolved.

Expert opinions

The list of countries of the Customs Union in the near future may be replenished with several more states, but, according to experts, in order for full growth and influence on similar Western unions like the EU (European Union) to be noticeable, a lot of work and expansion of the organization is needed. In any case, the ruble will not be able to become an alternative to the euro or the dollar for a long time, and the impact of recent sanctions has clearly shown how Western politics can work to please their interests, and that neither Russia nor the whole Union can actually do anything about it. . As for Kazakhstan and Belarus specifically, the conflict in Ukraine has shown that they will not give up their benefits in favor of Russia. Tenge, by the way, also fell sharply due to the fall of the ruble. And on many issues, Russia remains the main competitor of Kazakhstan and Belarus. However, at the moment, the creation of the Union is an adequate and the only right decision that can help somehow strengthen relations between states in the event of further pressure from the West on Russia.

Now we know which countries in the Customs Union are more interested in its creation. Despite the fact that even at the stage of its inception it was constantly haunted by all sorts of problems, joint coordinated actions of all members of the Union make it possible to solve them as quickly as possible, which makes it possible to look to the future with optimism and hope for the rapid development of the economies of all states participating in this treaty.

List of member countries of the Customs Union in 2017

The Customs Union is an agreement adopted by the members of the Eurasian Economic Union, the purpose of which is cancellation of customs payments in trade relations. Based on these agreements, common ways of carrying out economic activity, a platform for quality assessment and certification are being created.

This achieves abolition of customs control on the borders within the Union, general provisions for the regulation of economic activity for the external borders of the CU are concluded. In view of this, a common customs space is being created, using a generally accepted approach to the implementation of border controls. Another distinctive feature is the equality of citizens of the customs area during employment.

Members

In 2017, the Customs Union consists of the next members of the EAEU:

• Republic of Armenia (since 2015);
• Republic of Belarus (since 2010);
• Republic of Kazakhstan (since 2010);
• Kyrgyz Republic (since 2015);
• Russian Federation (since 2010).

The desire to become a party to this agreement was voiced by Syria and Tunisia. In addition, it is known about the proposal to include Turkey in the CU agreement. However, no specific procedures have been adopted so far for the entry of these states into the ranks of the Union.

It is clearly seen that the functioning of the Customs Union is a good help for strengthening economic relations between countries located on the territory of the former Soviet countries. It can also be said that the approach established in the agreement by the participating countries speaks of restoration of lost ties in modern conditions.

Customs duties are distributed using a single shared distribution mechanism.

Given this information, it can be stated that the Customs Union, as we know it today, serves serious tool for the economic unification of the countries that are members of the EAEU.

Stages of formation

To understand what the activities of the Customs Union are, it will not be superfluous to get an understanding of how it was formed to its current state.

The emergence of the Customs Union was initially presented as one of the steps in the integration of the CIS countries. This was evidenced in the agreement on the establishment of an economic union, signed on September 24, 1993.

Step by step moving towards this goal, in 1995, two states (Russia and Belarus) concluded an agreement between themselves on the establishment of the Customs Union. Later, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also entered this group.

More than 10 years later, in 2007, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed a pact to unite their territories into a single customs region and establish the Customs Union.

In order to specify the previously concluded agreements, from 2009 to 2010 more than 40 additional agreements were concluded. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan decided that, starting from 2012, a Common Market due to the unification of countries into a single economic space.

On July 1, 2010, another important agreement was signed, which launched the Common Customs Tariff and the Customs Code.

On July 1, 2011, the current customs control at the borders between countries was canceled and common rules were established at the borders with states that are not in an agreement. Until 2013, uniform legislative norms for the parties to the agreement are being formed.

2014 - The Republic of Armenia is a member of the Customs Union. 2015 - The Republic of Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Customs Union.

Territory and administration

The unification of the borders of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan has become the basis for the emergence of the Common Customs Space. This is how the territory of the Customs Union was formed. In addition, it includes certain territories or objects under the jurisdiction of the parties to the agreement.

The Eurasian Economic Union is managed and coordinated by two bodies:

1. Interstate Council- the supreme body of a supranational nature, consists of heads of state and head of government of the Customs Union.
2. Commission of the Customs Union- an agency that deals with issues related to the formation of customs rules and regulates foreign trade policy.

Directions and conditions

By creating the Customs Union, the countries proclaimed the main goal social and economic progress. In the future, this implies an increase in trade and services that are produced by economic entities.

The increase in sales was originally expected directly in the space of the vehicle itself due to following conditions:

1. The abolition of customs procedures within the Union, which was supposed to make products manufactured within the single space more attractive, due to the abolition of duties.
2. Increasing trade through the abolition of customs control at internal borders.
3. Adoption of uniform requirements and integration of security standards.

Achievement of goals and perspectives

Having collected the available information about the emergence and activities of the Customs Union, we can conclude that the results of increasing the turnover of goods and services are published much less frequently than let's say the news about the signing of new agreements, i.e. its declarative part.

But, nevertheless, analyzing the stated goals during the creation of the CU, as well as observing their implementation, one cannot remain silent that the simplification of trade has been achieved, the competitive conditions for economic entities of the CU states have been improved.

It follows from this that the Customs Union is on the way to achieving its goals, however, in addition to time, this requires the mutual interest of both the states themselves and economic elements within the Union.

Activity analysis

The customs union is made up of countries that have the same economic past, but today these states are very different from each other. Of course, in Soviet times, the republics differed in their specialization, but after gaining independence, there were still a lot of changes that affect the world market and the division of labor.

However, there are also common interests. For example, many participating countries remain dependent on the Russian market. This trend is economic and geopolitical in nature.

All through the time leading positions in the process of integration and stabilization of the EAEU and the Customs Union played the Russian Federation. This was possible thanks to its stable economic growth until 2014, when commodity prices remained high, which helped to finance the processes launched by the agreements.

Although such a policy did not predict rapid economic growth, it nevertheless assumed the strengthening of Russia's position on the world stage.

To achieve these goals, the Republic went to increase tariffs on imported cars in the absence of its own production. Because of these measures, it was necessary to establish rules for certification of light industry goods which hurt the retail industry.

In addition, the standards adopted at the CU level were unified with the WTO model, despite the fact that Belarus is not a member of this organization, unlike Russia. Enterprises of the Republic have not received access to Russia's programs for import substitution.

All this served as obstacles for Belarus on the way to achieve its goals in full.

It should not be overlooked that the signed CU agreements contain various exceptions, clarifications, anti-dumping and countervailing measures that have become an obstacle to achieving common benefits and equal conditions for all countries. At various times, virtually every party to the agreement expressed disagreement with the terms of the agreements.

Although customs posts at the borders between the parties to the agreement were eliminated, preserved border zones between countries. Sanitary control at internal borders also continued. The absence of trusting relationships in the practice of interaction was revealed. An example of this is the disagreements that flare up from time to time between Russia and Belarus.

To date, it cannot be said that the goals that were declared in the agreement on the creation of the CU have been achieved. This can be seen from the decrease in the turnover of goods within the customs area. There are also no benefits for economic development compared to the time before agreements were signed.

But there are still signs that in the absence of an agreement, the situation would worsen more rapidly. The manifestation of the crisis would have had a larger and deeper character. A significant number of enterprises gain relative benefits by participating in trade relations within the Customs Union.

The agreements signed by the parties benefited the production of cars. Duty-free sale of cars assembled by manufacturers of participating countries has become available. Thus, conditions have been created for the implementation of projects who previously could not be successful.

What is a Customs Union? Details are on the video.

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