Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have agreed on common import duties on foreign cars within the Customs Union. This was told by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a press conference, following the meeting of the Interstate Council of the Euro-Asian Economic Community (EEC). "With the fees Russia intends "to defend" the common domestic market of the three countries when importing foreign cars," he said.
Vladimir Putin noted that this had nothing to do with Russia’s accession to the WTO, RIA «Novosti» news agency.
At what, The Russian Prime Minister did not specify the level and terms for the uniform fees. He merely noted that Belarus had demanded to retain the fee for trucks and Russia had agreed to this condition.
Uniform import duties on foreign cars should begin to act within the Customs Union in 2012. According to preliminary data, their level in Kazakhstan and Belarus would be raised to the Russian one. Initially, common duties were to have been active since July 2010 — immediately after the formation of the Customs Union, but Kazakhstan and Belarus demanded a postponement. Currently, the cost of customs clearance of vehicles for individuals in Belarus and Kazakhstan is six to eight times lower than in Russia.
