18 June 2004 09:44
Kazakhstan set to unify customs tariffs with Russia, Belarus - president
Astana, 18 June: Kazakhstan is suggesting to Russia and Belarus a number of measures to unify customs tariffs, Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said.
"Kazakhstan has reviewed its customs duty rates for imported goods to bring them into line with the
Russian-Belarusian level. We have agreed 56 per cent of the common customs tariffs of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan...
[ellipsis as given]. We [Kazakhstan - Interfax-Kazakhstan] have also drawn up proposals to change the 10 per cent
customs duty rate for imported goods as part of the existing Russian and Belarusian tariffs. If Belarus and Russia
accept these proposals, then the changes to the three states' customs tariffs will make it possible to increase the
common customs tariffs up to 76 per cent," Nazarbayev said at a meeting of the interstate council of the Eurasian
Economic Community [of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan - the former Customs Union], which was
attended by all the members of the delegations in Astana today.
An Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency correspondent reported that the interstate council's meeting is being held
behind "closed" doors after the short presence of journalists at the opening of the meeting.
"This may well be regarded as a pretty serious achievement already," Nazarbayev said, adding that the
Kazakh side's proposals "will make it possible to expand the basic list of the three states' common
customs tariffs".
Nazarbayev thinks that it is necessary "to involve Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in this issue (the unification of
tariffs - Interfax-Kazakhstan) even more actively".
[Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency] |
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