Dictators gathered for EurAsEC summit in Minsk

Beside Lukashenka, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Emomalii Rahmon, Nursultan Nazarbayev and others have gathered in the capital of Belarus.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has arrived in Minsk to participate in the summit. Russia is represented by President Dmitry Medvedev.

On November 27 a session of the Eurasian Economic Community Interstate Council (EurAsEC) takes place in Minsk. Alyaksandr Lukashenka called it a historically important event for the EurAsEC countries. It is planned to sign documents which are to lay foundation for functioning of the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan.

The aim of the session is authorization of the single customs tariffs of the Customs Union, which is to be imposed since January 1, 2010, and signing the agreement on the Customs Code, RIA Novosti informs.

Besides, it is planned to adopt a package of agreements on non-tariff regulation measures. As a result of its adoption since January 1 the countries of the Customs Union would transit to the single system of restrictions in the foreign trade. It is also expected to form a commission of the Customs Union as a supranational organ, which decisions are to be mandatory in all the states of the Customs Union.

It is worth mentioning that when adopting decisions on customs regulation, number of votes of the Customs Union members were allocated in the following way: Russia- 57%, Kazakhstan – 21.5%, Belarus – 21.5%.

It is still hard to day what expects the Belarusian economy in each sphere after the Customs Union would start functioning, as global changes in tariffs would take place, “Ezhednevnik” informs.

As the director of the foreign economic activities department of the Foreign Ministry Valery Sadokha stated before, “it is expected that about 2,000 commodity items out of 11,500 would reduce tariffs, tariffs for 470 items would be increased, but customs tariffs for food products would be about 20%, and 80% for manufactured goods,” said the representative of the Foreign Ministry. “And collectively tariffs are to be decreased by about 1%, which shows that we are opening our market further in the conditions of the new international space”.

At the same time, according to Russian mass media, increase of customs dues in Russia would concern 4% of goods out of the overall mix of goods. Decrease of dues is expected for 14% of goods. Rates are to be decreased for exotic fruit juices concentrates, infant food, photography materials, wool and fabrics, pharmaceutical substances, shoe details, electric equipment and so on.

Preliminary figures of import customs duties for some goods have been decreased: 15-20% for alcohol (as compared to 20% before), clothes – 10% (20%), footwear – 10% (15%). Besides, considerable decrease of duties for electric equipment is expected in Russia.

At the same time, oil duties reduction is the most important issue for Belarus. Decrease of prices for energy resources is undoubtedly the main advantage of joining the Customs Union for the country. And the main disadvantage for citizens of the country is increase of duties for passenger cars. Though Dmitry Medvedev told about possible increase of duties for trucks, which would compensate discomfort for Belarus to some degree, that won’t really make Belarusian drivers happy after January 1.

So it is clear how minuses of the Customs Union would affect Belarusians. And one can only guess how positive aspects of such cooperation would influence common citizens.