EDB presents the Unified Trade Policy and Addressing the Modernisation Challenges of the CES study
Saint Petersburg, 15 January 2013. The modernisation challenges faced by the economies of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia require that a uniform trade policy be formulated in the Common Economic Space (CES). This is the conclusion made by the authors of the report Unified Trade Policy and Addressing the Modernisation Challenges of the CES prepared by the EDB Centre for Integration Studies with the participation of leading Russian, Kazakh and Belarusian experts.
The paper states that the state development programmes of the CES countries set similar tasks. These include:
- improving the productivity of enterprises and increasing the share of research-intensive and high-tech sectors in GDP;
- attracting investment in manufacturing sectors, infrastructure, the energy sector and the efficient use of resources;
- supporting exports in high value-added sectors; and
- developing small business.
«Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus face similar tasks in modernising their economies. Modernisation is closely associated with the state of foreign trade, making the convergence of their foreign trade policies in the framework of the Customs Union a priority of economic interaction. In particular, it should be used to improve the structure of exports. The CES should become a single competitive economy in the global markets,» says Igor Finogenov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board.
In particular, the CES trade policy should be aimed at facilitating enterprises’ access to foreign markets, stimulating the growth in productivity and fostering the integration of these countries into the global economy.
In developing the principles of a trade policy aimed at developing innovation, it is particularly important to consider the growing role played by non-tariff barriers, including sanitary/phytosanitary standards and technical regulations (particularly when entering developed markets). For this reason, the harmonisation of technical product requirements is a key factor in simplifying the entry of the Customs Union countries onto foreign markets and expanding trade within the Customs Union.
The authors deem that the main priorities of a common trade policy should be the reconciliation of interests of producers and consumers, ensuring market competition, considering the interests of all the Customs Union member nations, factoring in the possible expansion of the Customs Union and the CES, and preventing distortions in the competitive field.
The instruments of the Customs Union’s common trade policy proposed in the report are divided into three groups:
- short-term: simplifying the VAT-refund system and customs procedures;
- mid-term: reconciling customs duties, technical regulation, and the development of a system for the collection of statistical data on trade within the Customs Union; and
- long-term: support to exports, antidumping policy and the attraction of foreign direct investments.
The report analyses the key economic risks that may arise in the course of the negotiation by the CES participants of a foreign trade policy and proposes the main areas of the CES common trade policy and measures for its coordinated implementation.
The full version of the report is available at
Additional Information
Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. EDB’s charter capital exceeds US $1.5 billion. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan. Read more at https://www.eabr.org.
The EDB Centre for Integration Studies was opened 2011. The Centre organises research and prepares reports and recommendations on regional economic integration. Read more about the Centre’s projects and publications ateabr.org/analytics/