New approaches to removing barriers to trade in the EAEU

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) has approved a new Methodology for the Qualification of Obstacles in the Internal Market of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This became known following the results of the last meeting of the EEC Board on March 28 this year.

Now the whole procedure from the moment of receipt of the application to its qualification as a barrier will take up to 60 calendar days. Previously, this process took more than 70 working days.

At the same time, the applicant can monitor the progress of consideration of his application online on the EEC website.

It should be noted that 62 of the 70 identified barriers have been eliminated so far. At the same time, 25 barriers were identified in the Russian Federation, which did not allow domestic producers to supply their goods to the Russian market.

In accordance with the new Methodology, a mediation mechanism has been introduced for the first time, which allows removing the barrier without additional bureaucratic procedures.

So, for example, the Russian Federation has already made commitments to eliminate four barriers, three of which did not allow Kazakh producers to participate in Russian public procurement in the amount of up to 7 billion US dollars.

According to the results of last year, the EAEU member states eliminated 7 barriers that are sensitive for the Republic of Kazakhstan. They were associated with the establishment of discriminatory conditions for the occupation of shelves in stores and pharmacies, a ban on the supply of a number of food products, participation in public procurement, and others. In total, these barriers are estimated to be up to 500 million US dollars of potential exports, according to expert opinions.

In addition to the work carried out at the site of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the Ministry of Trade and Integration annually holds meetings with businesses from all regions of Kazakhstan within the framework of the Ministry's Public Reception.

It should also be noted that since July 1, 2021, amendments to the Law on Trading Activities have come into force. The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has the right to introduce retaliatory measures if our partners in the EAEU do not eliminate the barriers identified by them.

«ЗThe task of completely removing barriers is one of the most priority and strategic tasks of Eurasian integration as a whole. The adoption of the new version of the Methodology is another tool for creating conditions for the prompt solution of the problems that have arisen regarding the access of domestic products to the markets of partner countries» – the Ministry of Trade and Integration noted.