Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have opposed Belarus’s proposed expansion of the pilot project for customs inspections of clothing and footwear within established risk areas—not only their average value and quantity, but also information on their characteristics, trademarks, manufacturers, and country of origin, including the inspection of specific brands. Kommersant reported.
It is noted that the two countries did not support extending the pilot project, previously approved by the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, on identifying risk areas in customs declarations of clothing and footwear to specific brands, demanding that the Union Court first consider the pilot project.
The resistance to the already launched process of legalizing the trade market within the EAEU may be explained by the benefits that members receive from the release of goods by their customs authorities, given that the main share of imports ultimately goes to the Russian market. The issue will be raised at the presidential level at the Supreme Economic Council of the EAEU. However, given the stalled union effort on import transparency, the Russian side will likely continue to strengthen measures to tighten controls at the national level, the article says.
According to the media outlet, representatives of the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan stated that «it is inadvisable to make any decisions on identifying risk areas... before receiving an advisory opinion from the Union Court.»
Amid the tense budget revenue situation, as well as fierce competition between cheap gray imports and more expensive import substitution products, this work will likely continue and be strengthened through interagency coordination to provide data for a «countdown mechanism» to monitor importers’ payment of all legally required fees, the media outlet notes.
