Customs Union today. International organizations: members

The Customs Union (CU) is an official association based on the agreement of the participating countries on the abolition of customs borders between them, and accordingly the abolition of duties. Also, the basis for the functioning of the union is the use of a single tariff for all other states. As a result, the Customs Union has created a huge single customs territory, within which goods are moved without the expense of crossing customs borders.

Although the Customs Union was legally created in 2010, it actually began to work only on July 1, 2011, when acts on the creation of a single customs territory came into force in the participating countries, and all control and regulatory bodies were created and began to operate. On this moment The CU members are five states - Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. Several other countries are official candidates to join the organization or are considering doing so.

Russia

Russian Federation is the initiator and basis of the TS. This country has the most powerful economy among all participating countries, and within the Union it has the opportunity to increase the competitiveness of its goods within the common market, which, according to experts, will give it additional profits in less than 10 years, totaling $400 billion.

Kazakhstan

For Kazakhstan, participation in the Customs Union is primarily good because it allows it to enter an association that provides a total of up to 16% of world grain exports. Working in the same field, Kazakhstan and Russia had the opportunity to significantly influence the world grain market, changing its conditions in their favor. In addition, the rapidly developing agricultural industry of Kazakhstan in this way managed to significantly strengthen its position in the Russian Federation and other countries of the association.

Belarus

For Belarus, which has long been partially integrated with Russia into a single customs and economic field, participation in the Customs Union made it possible to expand the geography of preferential supplies of its products to several more countries, and also increased the influx of investments, in particular from Kazakhstan. According to experts, participation in the Customs Union annually brings Belarus up to $2 billion in additional profit.

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan

These countries have recently become members of the Customs Union. Their involvement made it possible to further strengthen the association’s position in the global energy market. These same countries have received preferential access to markets, the total volume of which significantly exceeds their economic capabilities, so they are predicted to accelerate GDP growth and the general well-being of the population.

In general, the Customs Union is considered as a mutually beneficial economic partnership of geographically and mentally close countries that have equal rights and opportunities within the framework of the association. Considering the prospects for the accession of new members, we can expect that in the near future the CU will become an even more powerful and influential economic bloc.

Ask your question about the member states of the Customs Union:

The Customs Union is an agreement adopted by the participants of the Eurasian Economic Union, the purpose of which is abolition of customs duties in trade relations. Based on these agreements, common ways of carrying out economic activities and a platform for quality assessments and certification are created.

Thanks to this it is achieved abolition of customs controls on the borders within the Union, are concluded general provisions regulation of economic activity for the external borders of the Customs Union. In view of this, a common customs space is being created, using a generally accepted approach to border control. One more distinctive feature is the equality of citizens of the customs area during employment.

In 2018, the Customs Union consists of next members of the EAEU:

• Republic of Armenia (since 2015);
• Republic of Belarus (since 2010);
• Republic of Kazakhstan (since 2010);
• Kyrgyz Republic (since 2015);
• Russian Federation (since 2010).

The desire to become a party to this agreement was voiced by Syria and Tunisia. In addition, we know about the proposal to include Turkey in the CU agreement. However, to date, no specific procedures have been adopted for these states to join the Union.

It is clearly visible that the functioning of the Customs Union serves as a good help for strengthening economic relations between countries located on the territory of the former Soviet countries. We can also say that the approach established in the agreement by the participating countries speaks of restoring lost connections in modern conditions.

Customs duties are distributed through a single sharing mechanism.

Given this information, it can be stated that the Customs Union, as we know it today, serves serious tool for the economic unification of countries that are members of the EAEU.

To understand what the activities of the Customs Union are, it will not be amiss to gain an understanding of how it was formed to its current state.

The emergence of the Customs Union was initially presented as one of the steps in the integration of the CIS countries. This was evidenced in the agreement on the creation of an economic union, signed on September 24, 1993.

Step by step moving towards this goal, in 1995, two states (Russia and Belarus) entered into an agreement between themselves on the approval of the Customs Union. Later, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan also entered this group.

More than 10 years later, in 2007, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed a pact to unite their territories into a single customs region and approve the Customs Union.

In order to specify the previously concluded agreements, from 2009 to 2010, more than 40 additional agreements were concluded. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have decided that, starting in 2012, a Common Market thanks to the unification of countries into a single economic space.

On July 1, 2010, another important agreement was concluded, which put into motion the work of the Customs Code.

On July 1, 2011, the current one was canceled customs control on borders between countries and established common rules on borders with states not in the agreement. Until 2013, uniform legislative norms for the parties to the agreement will be formed.

2014 – The Republic of Armenia joins the Customs Union. 2015 – The Republic of Kyrgyzstan joins the Customs Union.

On January 1, 2018, a new unified Customs Code of the EAEU. It was created to automate and simplify a number of customs processes.

Territory and management

The unification of the borders of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan became the basis for the emergence of the Single Customs Space. This is how the territory of the Customs Union was formed. In addition, it includes certain territories or objects under the jurisdiction of the parties to the agreement.

The limit of the territory is the border of the Customs Union with third-party states. Moreover, the existence of a border for individual territories under the jurisdiction of the Union member states is normatively established.

The management and coordination of the Eurasian Economic Union is carried out by two organs:

1. Interstate Council- the highest body of a supranational nature, consists of heads of state and head of government of the Customs Union.
2. Customs Union Commission– an agency that deals with issues related to the formation of customs rules and regulates foreign trade policy.

Directions and conditions

When creating the Customs Union, countries declared the main goal socio-economic progress. In the future, this implies an increase in trade turnover and services produced by business entities.

The increase in sales was initially expected directly in the space of the vehicle itself due to following conditions:

1. The abolition of customs procedures within the Union, which was supposed to make products produced within a single space more attractive, due to.
2. Increasing trade turnover by eliminating customs controls at internal borders.
3. Adoption of uniform requirements and integration of safety standards.

Achieving goals and perspectives

Having collected available information about the emergence and activities of the Customs Union, we can come to the conclusion that the results of increasing the turnover of goods and services are published much less frequently than news about the signing of new agreements, i.e. its declarative part.

But, nevertheless, analyzing the stated goals when creating the Customs Union, as well as observing their implementation, one cannot remain silent that simplification of trade turnover has been achieved and competitive conditions have been improved for economic entities of the Customs Union states.

It follows from this that the Customs Union is on the way to achieving its goals, however, in addition to time, this requires the mutual interest of both the states themselves and the economic elements within the Union.

The customs union consists of countries that have the same economic background, but today these states are very different from each other. Of course, even in Soviet times, the republics differed in their specialization, but after gaining independence, many more changes occurred that affected the world market and the division of labor.

However, there are also common interests. For example, many participating countries remain dependent on the Russian sales market. This trend is economic and geopolitical in nature.

Throughout the whole time leading positions in the process of integration and stabilization of the EAEU and the Customs Union played Russian Federation. This was possible due to its stable economic growth until 2014, when prices for raw materials remained high, which helped finance the processes launched by the agreements.

Although such a policy did not predict rapid economic growth, it still assumed the strengthening of Russia's position on the world stage.

The history of relations between the parties to the agreements is similar to a series of compromises that were built on the basis of the role of Russia and the positions of partner countries. For example, there were repeated statements from Belarus about its priorities: a single economic space with equal prices for oil and gas, access to Russian government procurement.

To achieve these goals, the Republic increased tariffs on imported cars in the absence of its own production. Because of such measures it was necessary to install rules for certification of light industry goods, which hurt retail trade.

In addition, the standards adopted at the CU level were unified with the WTO model, despite the fact that Belarus is not a member of this organization, unlike Russia. Enterprises of the Republic have not received access to Russian import substitution programs.

All this served as obstacles for Belarus on the path to achieving its goals in full.

It should not be overlooked that the signed CU agreements contain various exceptions, clarifications, anti-dumping and countervailing measures, which have become an obstacle to the achievement of common benefits and equal conditions for all countries. IN different time in fact, every participant in the agreement expressed disagreement with the terms contained in the agreements.

Although customs posts on the borders between the parties to the agreement were eliminated, border zones between countries have been preserved. Sanitary control at internal borders also continued. A lack of trust in interaction practice has been revealed. An example of this is the disagreements that flare up from time to time between Russia and Belarus.

Today it is impossible to say that the goals that were declared in the agreement on the creation of the Customs Union have been achieved. This is evident from the decrease in the turnover of goods within the customs area. There are also no benefits for economic development, when compared with the time before the agreements were signed.

But there are still signs that in the absence of an agreement the situation would deteriorate more rapidly. The manifestation of the crisis would be broader and deeper. A significant number of enterprises gain relative benefits by participating in trade relations within the Customs Union.

Methods for distributing customs duties among countries also indicate favorable trends for the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Initially, a large share was planned for the budget of the Russian Federation.

The agreements signed by the parties benefited the production of automobiles. Duty-free sales of cars assembled by manufacturers in participating countries have become available. Thus, conditions have been created for the implementation of projects that previously could not succeed.

What is the Customs Union? Details are in the video.

For many centuries, customs unions of several states have been one of the main factors in bringing the participating countries closer together in matters of economics, trade, finance, and subsequently, possibly, political course. Already at the beginning of the 19th century, the German Customs Union was created from the majority of German states, which agreed to abolish all customs barriers among themselves, and from the duties levied on the borders of the union territory to form a common treasury. European Union, one of the main economic and political associations modern world, also began as the Coal and Steel Community, which later became the Customs Union and then the single market area. Of course, the processes of these transitions were not without problems and contradictions, but common economic goals and political will tipped the scales in their favor.

Based on the above, the desire former republics The USSR, having embarked on a democratic path of development, to create a similar institution at the turn of the century is quite logical and justified. Four years after the collapse of the Union, the heads of the three are now independent states– Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus – signed a package of documents on the creation of the Customs Union, the purpose of which was the free movement of goods, services and capital within the borders of these countries, as well as the creation of a unified course of trade, currency, customs and tax policies.

Despite the fact that since 1999 they have been accepting practical measures to create a single customs territory, uniform rates of customs duties and a single tariff and trade policy, the Unified Customs Code began to be applied only in 2010 and, accordingly, it was from that moment that the existence of the Customs Union de facto began. Already on next year customs control at the borders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was abolished and transferred to the outer contour of the borders of the Customs Union. Kyrgyzstan is in the process of joining the union, and the governments of Tajikistan and Armenia are also considering joining. Since 2012, on the basis of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a Common Economic Space has been created, the purpose of which was a more complete and effective provision of goods, services, capital and work force across the borders of the SES member countries.

The relevance of the topic is due, first of all, to the fact that the CU of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan became the first truly functioning integration association of states in the territory former USSR. Such an association was simply necessary due to the fact that in our time, politicians in the post-Soviet states are increasingly forced to implement joint economic management in conditions of managed integration. The reason for this is the various economic shocks in various CIS countries and the weakly tangible results of overcoming these shocks.

The purpose of this course work is to consider the Customs Union as a type of international economic organization. To achieve this, the following tasks have been set:

• assessment of world experience in creating economic unions;
• consideration of the prerequisites for the creation and stages of the formation of the Customs Union;
• identifying economic problems of the Customs Union and proposing ways to solve them.

1.1 Essence and stages of economic integration

In order to understand the goals and motives for creating the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, you first need to understand the very essence of economic integration. This is a fairly high, effective and promising stage of development of the world economy, a qualitatively new and more complex stage of internationalization economic ties. Economic integration leads not only to the rapprochement of national economies, but also ensures joint solution of economic problems. Consequently, economic integration can be represented as a process of economic interaction between countries, leading to the convergence of economic mechanisms, taking the form of interstate agreements and coordinatedly regulated by interstate bodies.

It should be noted that most integration unions appeared relatively recently, within the last 50 years. Among them are the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Area NAFTA, the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and many others. All of them differ from each other both in the level of interaction between enterprises of the member states and in the degree of merging of national economies. The Hungarian economist Bela Balassa identified five forms of economic integration, going from lowest to highest - free trade area, customs union, single market, economic union and political union. However, at present there is no consensus on the number of these forms of unanimity. Some scientists distinguish four or five stages, others six. Some believe that the transition from a monetary union to an economic union should also be celebrated, and some believe that the opposite is true.

If we talk about the principles of activity of integration groups, then they are: trade promotion; expansion of international and interregional cooperation, both in production and in financial, scientific and technical spheres; development of international transport infrastructure. As a result, at the moment we have a huge volume of international movement of goods and services, gigantic flows of labor migration, transfer of knowledge and ideas, and cross-border exchange of capital. All this is impossible to imagine in a situation where each state conducts its own economic activity on one's own. On the other hand, the scale and speed of all these processes cause heated discussions in scientific circles, which received particular resonance after the ratification of NAFTA in 1993. Among these debates are questions about whether regional economic organizations are harmful or beneficial to the liberalization of world trade, about the benefits of trade, and about the effectiveness of the global economic integration model.

Continuing the topic of the feasibility of economic integration, we should recall the article by R. Lipsey and K. Lancaster “The General Theory of Second Best”. Based on this work, despite the fact that only free trade leads to the efficient distribution of resources, as long as there are trade barriers in relation to third countries, it is impossible to judge the economic effects for the countries participating in the integration group. The conclusion is that small tariff reductions are more likely to have a positive effect on countries' welfare than complete tariff abolitions, such as those found in customs unions. However, this conclusion cannot be called unequivocally correct, since, other things being equal, the more local products are consumed within a country and the less imported, the greater the likelihood of an improvement in its well-being as a result of the formation of a customs union. This improvement will be explained by the fact that the replacement of goods produced in the country with goods from countries participating in the customs union will lead to a trade creation effect, since the comparative advantages of national producers will be used in production. Thus, a customs union will stimulate trade between participating countries, thereby increasing their welfare.

Thus, we can conclude that the creation of a customs union does not provide any guarantees of growth in the welfare of the member states, however, the introduction of common customs tariffs or a single currency can have positive effects, both in production and consumption.

Let us now consider examples of various economic integrations on the world stage and specifically in the territory of the former USSR.

As stated above, the first form of economic integration is a free trade area (FTA). Its main principle is the elimination of tariff and quantitative restrictions on trade turnover between states. The agreement to create an FTA is usually based on the principle of a mutual moratorium on increasing duties, following which partners do not have the right to unilaterally increase customs duties or erect new trade barriers. Moreover, each state has the right to determine its trade policy in relation to countries that are not members of the FTA independently. An example of an FTA at the global level is the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), of which the United States of America, Mexico and Canada are members. Among the points of the agreement establishing this FTA, which entered into force in 1994, are the elimination of customs tariffs and non-tariff barriers for industrial and agricultural goods, the development of common rules for investment, the protection of intellectual property rights and the resolution of trade disputes between participating countries. In Europe, an FTA can be considered European Association free trade (EFTA), which currently includes Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Liechtenstein. Speaking about FTAs ​​in the post-Soviet space, first of all it is worth mentioning the CIS Free Trade Area, which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. In addition, after the collapse of the USSR, there also existed the Baltic Free Trade Area (created in 1993 between Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) and the Central European Free Trade Association (created in 1992, members are Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic ), however, with the accession of the participating countries to the European Union, the agreements under these FTAs ​​lost their force.

The next stage of economic integration, which is the most interesting for us in the context of this work, is a customs union (CU), which can be defined as an agreement between two or more states on the abolition of customs duties in trade between them. Based on the XIV General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the CU replaces several customs territories with one, with the complete abolition of customs duties within the CU and the creation of a single external customs tariff. Note that customs unions are popular in developing countries, for example, all Latin American countries are members of the Customs Union, as are the countries of Central and South Africa. The largest Customs Union in terms of area is the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which will be discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs of this work. Also noteworthy are the South American Common Market MERCOSUR (a CU agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela) and Benelux (the union of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg).

A higher level of integration is the single market. In the post-Soviet space, it exists in the form of the Common Economic Space, created by the participants of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. In the West, the main representative is the European Union (EU).

The Customs Union abolishes customs duties for member countries and develops a common customs policy for goods from third countries, thereby creating the preconditions for the transition to a single market. However, for this transition it is necessary to implement some tasks that are not possible to implement within the framework of the customs union. First of all, this is the development of a general policy for the development of individual sectors of the economy, in which it is necessary to take into account the degree of its importance for integration, as well as its impact on society and on changes in the needs and requirements of consumers. For example, when creating the single market in the EU, transport and Agriculture. In addition, it is necessary to create conditions for the unhindered movement of services, capital and labor between participating states.

A controversial stage in the classification of integration development is the monetary union. In addition to the already implemented agreements on the single market and common monetary policy, a gradual transition to a common currency is added; accordingly, a single central bank or system of central banks is organized, which implements the foreign exchange and emission policy agreed upon between the participating countries. The advantages of a currency union are obvious - reduction in costs for settlement services, greater price transparency, increased competition, and improved business climate. However, it is worth taking into account the different economic situations of the member countries of a monetary union, differences in which may pose a significant problem for its normal functioning. This is what the main monetary union, the Eurozone, which includes 18 EU countries and special EU territories, is currently facing. There are currently no currency unions in the post-Soviet space. Not long ago, rumors appeared about the imminent introduction of a single currency called “Altyn” on the territory of the Common Economic Space, but the Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Viktor Khristenko, denied these rumors.

The highest form Economic integration is an economic union where a single market and a monetary union operate under common economic policies. An economic union is characterized by the emergence of supranational economic bodies, whose economic decisions become binding on the member countries of this union. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan plan to create the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) by 2015, which will be the first economic union in the post-Soviet space.

2. Prospects for the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan

2.1 Prerequisites and stages of creating the Customs Union

Despite the fact that the first agreement on concluding the Customs Union was signed by the former Soviet republics in 1995, in order to trace the background to its creation, it is necessary to go back a little further into the past. Two years earlier, the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan entered into an agreement to create an Economic Union. In this agreement we are interested in Art. 4, which states that the Economic Union is being created through a gradual deepening of integration and coordination of actions in the implementation of economic reforms. It is here that the Customs Union appears for the first time as one of the forms of this integration.

The next step was the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Belarus “On a unified regulatory procedure foreign economic activity" dated April 12, 1994. This is the first example of the unification of customs legislation, which provided that the Republic of Belarus would introduce on its territory customs tariffs, taxes and fees for the import and export of goods, completely identical to those on the territory of the Russian Federation. Thanks to this agreement, goods originating from the territory of Russia and Belarus could be moved from the customs territory of one of these states to the customs territory of the other without any restrictions and the collection of customs duties and taxes. It became a key step for the subsequent creation of the Customs Union.

Only a year later, on January 6, 1995, the Agreement on the Customs Union between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus was signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Less than a month later, on January 20, 1995, the Republic of Kazakhstan decided to join this agreement, and the agreement was signed simultaneously with Russia and Belarus, which acted as one party. In 1996, Kyrgyzstan joined these Agreements. It was in this agreement that the main goals of creating the Customs Union were outlined:

• ensuring joint actions of the socio-economic progress of their countries by eliminating dividing obstacles between them for free economic interaction between economic entities;
• guaranteeing sustainable economic development, free trade exchange and fair competition;
• strengthening the coordination of the economic policies of their countries and ensuring the comprehensive development of the national economy;
• creating conditions for the formation of a common economic space;
• creating conditions for the active entry of member states of the Customs Union into the world market.

In 1997 An Agreement on common measures of non-tariff regulation during the formation of the Customs Union was concluded between Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

In 1999 Tajikistan joins this economic association and also accedes to the 1995 Customs Union Agreement.

One of the next main stages of bringing the Customs Union into effect was 1999 - it was then that the parties to the 1995 Customs Union Agreement concluded the Treaty on the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. An entire chapter of three sections was devoted to the conditions for completing the formation of the Customs Union. Among them are the presence of a single customs territory and customs tariff; a regime that does not allow any tariff or non-tariff restrictions in mutual trade; uniform mechanisms for regulating the economy and trade, based on universal market principles of management and harmonized economic legislation; implementation of a unified customs policy and application of common customs regimes; simplification and subsequent abolition of customs controls at internal customs borders. The agreement also introduced the concept of a single customs territory and defined the executive body of the Customs Union, operating at the stage of its formation - the Integration Committee, located in Kazakhstan in the city of Almaty.
The next advance in the creation of the Customs Union came with the establishment in 2000 of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC). In Art. 2 of the agreement on its establishment clearly states that the EurAsEC is being created to effectively promote the process of formation of the Customs Union by the contracting parties.

October 6, 2007 A number of agreements were signed that were fundamental to the creation of the Customs Union. Firstly, amendments were made to the Treaty establishing the EurAsEC, in accordance with which the highest body of the Customs Union, the Interstate Council, was formed. It is both the supreme body of the EurAsEC and the supreme body of the Customs Union, but decisions on Customs Union issues are made by members of the Interstate Council from member states of the Customs Union. Also, the Protocol of October 6, 2007 on amendments to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community of October 10, 2000 expanded the competence of the EurAsEC Court, which received the right to consider cases on the compliance of acts of the Customs Union bodies with international treaties that form the legal basis of the Customs Union. Secondly, the Agreement on the creation of a single customs territory and the formation of the Customs Union established the very concept of “Customs Union”, as well as a list of measures necessary to complete the formation of the Customs Union. Thirdly, the Treaty on the Customs Union Commission established a new body - the Customs Union Commission - a single permanent regulatory body of the Customs Union, one of the principles of which is the voluntary gradual transfer of part of the powers of state bodies to the Commission.

In 2009, about 40 international treaties were adopted and ratified at the level of heads of state and government, forming the basis of the Customs Union, and on July 1, 2010, the Unified Customs Code began to be applied in the territory of the three states.

Based on all the above documents, two main conclusions can be drawn: despite the beginning of the actual work of the Customs Union in 2010, the possibility of its creation was legally established back in 1993, and the participating countries have been making decisions on its creation as a single bloc since 1995. To be fair, it is worth noting that the broad masses started talking about the Customs Union of the three states only when high momentum was achieved for its creation, that is, around 2009, although the idea of ​​the Customs Union of Russia and Belarus was widely known.

As for the reasons for the creation of the Customs Union, one of them was definitely the geopolitical situation. After the collapse of the USSR and the so-called “parade of sovereignties,” Russia found itself surrounded by integration associations such as NATO and the European Union. In addition, some neighboring countries, like Georgia and Ukraine, also followed a pro-Western political vector. It became increasingly difficult to confront them alone. Apparently, the leadership of our country realized that in such conditions, further development is possible only if there are real allies, and the customs union is one of the best means economic integration of states.

The second reason is economic. As you know, relatively recently, in 2012, Russia became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization(WTO). However, negotiations on Russia’s accession to this organization have been ongoing since 1993, and the WTO chairmen did not give a firm refusal. In order not to waste time, the country's leadership decided to create a trade bloc, an alternative to the WTO. Considering that at that time the chances of Belarus and Kazakhstan joining the WTO were zero, the creation of such a bloc was a success. In addition, there was a pragmatic interest of three states: Russia received new sales markets, Kazakhstan - reorientation of Chinese trade flows towards itself with their subsequent direction to Russia, Belarus - duty-free receipt of energy resources (which, by the way, at some point in time became a stumbling block in negotiations three countries and even questioned Belarus’ membership in the Customs Union).

Perhaps there was an idea that the trade advantages of the Customs Union would allow us to be self-sufficient in the production and trade of our goods, without experiencing problems from the lack of WTO membership of all three countries. In the event of joining the WTO, it was assumed that it would be easier to do this as part of the “troika”; subsequently, Russia repeatedly voiced this fact as an argument for accelerating this process. However, as practice has shown, the economic situation in Kazakhstan and Belarus does not yet allow these states to become part of the WTO following Russia. And if in 2013 at that time CEO WTO Pascal Lamy said that Kazakhstan is at a fairly advanced stage of negotiations on accession to the WTO, but on the issue of Belarus, negotiations are proceeding very slowly and may not end soon enough.

2.2 Problems of functioning of the Customs Union

The main factor in creating any trade union is the trade turnover between member states. As mentioned earlier, after the formation of regional trade unions, the process of reorienting local consumers to internal integration sources begins. The closer the trade ties between these sources, the more successful the alliance will be in achieving integration goals.

Let's notice a small pattern - than more weight has a trade union in world exports, the higher the share of mutual trade between its members in the total volume of foreign trade of the union. In this regard, the trade of the member countries of the Customs Union with each other is very much inferior to trade with third countries. Let's take for comparison the most successful example economic integration of modern times - the European Union, the need to apply the experience of which in the process of Euro-Asian integration has been repeatedly referred to by V.V. Putin and D.A. Medvedev. When the markets of the EU member states united, this unification was directed primarily inward. As a result, more than 60% of the foreign trade of EU member countries is aimed at trade within the European Union. It is this factor that distinguishes the development processes of Eurasian and European integration. Below are export data for some economic unions:

Table 2.2.1. Exports of economic unions in 2013, %

As a reverse example, let's take the Economic Community of Countries West Africa(ECOWAS). In this regional union, the volume of trade between the participating countries is extremely low and amounts to only 7.15%. Thus, we see that in the absence of strong intra-Union trade ties, barriers to the development of economic integration appear.

In order to identify the next problem of the Customs Union, we will consider the largest trading partners of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2013.

Table 2.2.2. Main foreign trade partners of the CU and CES member countries, 2013.

According to the table above, it can be seen that the main trading partners of Belarus are Russia, the Netherlands and Ukraine. Kazakhstan is not even in the top ten and is only in 12th place.

Regarding Kazakhstan, you can see that its main trading partners are China, Russia and Italy. In this case, Belarus is even further, in 23rd place.

As for Russia, its largest foreign trade partners are the Netherlands, China and Germany. None of the member countries of the Customs Union is included in the top three, Belarus is in fifth place, Kazakhstan is in 12th.

As we can see, there is a fact that is very unpleasant for a regional association - the bilateral trading countries of the CU member states with some external trading partners are much more intense than with each other, which reduces the effectiveness of this union.

To further identify the problems of the Customs Union, we use the Trade Dependency Index (TDI), an indicator that represents the ratio foreign trade turnover country to its GDP. The dynamics of this parameter will help to draw a conclusion about how much the Customs Union has increased and whether it has increased the mutual trade of the member countries.

Table 2.2.3. Trade dependency index for Russia, 2003-2013.

Based on this table, we can conclude that starting from 2010 (the Unified Customs Code came into force), Russia’s indices in relation to Belarus and Kazakhstan have been trending upward, but very weakly. Consequently, for Russia the Customs Union did not become turning point, radically affecting the extent of its trade with Belarus and Kazakhstan.

As for the ICT of Belarus, from the table below it can be seen that in relation to Russia, the volume of trade has tended to grow since 2010. However, as for Kazakhstan, it can be seen that throughout 2010 the index fell slightly, and then an opposite trend emerged. Based on the data, we can say that for Belarus the Customs Union provides an opportunity to strengthen trade ties with Russia, but not with Kazakhstan.

Table 2.2.4. Trade dependency index for Belarus, 2003-2013.

Regarding Kazakhstan, it can be noted that since the creation of the Customs Union, the importance of trade with Russia and Belarus for it has increased, but only slightly. Data for Kazakhstan are shown in the table below:

Table 2.2.5. Trade dependency index for Kazakhstan, 2003-2013.

Based on the above, we can conclude that among the three participating countries of the Customs Union, only one state makes a significant contribution to strengthening bilateral ties - Belarus, which is not the best indicator for an integration association.

So, based on the analysis of mutual trade between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which is the main indicator of the degree of integration of a group of countries, we can say that the level of trade turnover between the member countries of the Customs Union still remains low. Consequently, the Customs Union cannot currently be considered a fully effective instrument of foreign economic policy and increasing the volume of foreign trade.

2.3 Main directions of development of the Customs Union

Speaking about the prospects and the main methods and directions used in the development of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, it can be noted that, as mentioned above, the President and Chairman of the Government of Russia propose to act with an eye on the experience of the European Union. We will not question the competence of our country’s senior officials, but we note that comparing the European Union and the Customs Union is not entirely correct. In the case of the European Union, initially there were several leading countries that had approximately the same economic situation and balanced each other. In the case of the Customs Union, it is obvious that the level of economic development of Russia is much higher than that of Kazakhstan and Belarus. Therefore, it is not surprising that Russia has taken on the role of leader in the Eurasian integration association, and Russian economy acts as the core of the integration process. In this situation, it is much more correct to compare the Customs Union with NAFTA, in which three countries also participate, and the role of the central economy is played by the United States of America. The main similarity that allows us to compare these integration groups is the serious differences in the socio-economic level of development of the countries.

The famous economist G. Majone, examining the processes of European integration from a critical perspective in his monograph, notes that significant differences in the socio-economic level of the states participating in the integration process will necessarily lead to different political priorities. In this case, harmonization of national legislation is inappropriate, but on the contrary, in order to improve the welfare of the member states of the integration group, differentiation is necessary legal norms. J. Bhagwati and R. Hudek, in one of their works devoted to free trade and harmonization of national legislation, also argued that centralized unification in some cases can worsen socio-economic indicators. Consequently, some traditional methods of integration, which include the centralized harmonization of the legal system that was used in Europe, are untenable within the Customs Union.

Another important principle of European integration is economic and social solidarity, which involves equalizing the level of material well-being in all member countries of the European Union. In the case of the Customs Union, the main prospects for its expansion are related to the future accession of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The standard of living of the population of these countries is much lower than that of Russia, Belarus or Kazakhstan, and as for the economic situation, the size of the economies of these states is not comparable with the economies of Kazakhstan and Belarus, not to mention Russia. Based on this, we again have the inapplicability of developing the integration of the Customs Union following the example of the European Union.

If we talk about the accession of new states to the membership of the Customs Union, first of all it is worth mentioning Kyrgyzstan. Negotiations between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan with this country regarding joining the Customs Union have been going on since 2011, but periodically they mark time for quite long periods of time. The main reason for such downtime is the so-called “road map” - a list of conditions that Kyrgyzstan insists on when joining the Customs Union. The fact is that many representatives of the business community fear for some sectors of the country, which may be driven to bankruptcy. Among them is the re-export of Chinese goods. It's no secret that customs rates for many Chinese goods in Kyrgyzstan, zero or close to zero, which has allowed local entrepreneurs to create huge clothing markets, which are often visited by wholesalers from neighboring countries, including Kazakhstan and Russia. Several hundred thousand people work in such markets, and the loss of their jobs if the country joins the Customs Union also threatens social unrest. That is why the Kyrgyz government is asking to give the country’s largest markets the status of free trade zones, provide temporary benefits for many product items, and also sign an agreement on the unimpeded movement of migrant workers within the Customs Union, which it considers as a “safety cushion” for the country. These conditions were considered unacceptable by members of the Customs Union, especially Kazakhstan, which even led to Kyrgyzstan temporarily suspending the integration process in December 2013. However, in March 2014, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Joormat Otorbaev said that the road map had been amended and that the country could join the Customs Union as early as this year. Whether this will be true or not, time will tell.

As for Tajikistan, which is also considered one of the contenders for integration with the CU countries, despite President Emomali Rahmon’s statements about the seriousness of his intentions to negotiate on joining the Customs Union back in 2010, at the moment negotiations have not begun. The government of the country wants to make sure of the feasibility of this step, first of all, by assessing the result of joining the Customs Union of Kyrgyzstan. The geographical factor also plays a role here - Tajikistan does not have common borders with Russia, Belarus or Kazakhstan, but it borders on Kyrgyzstan. If Kyrgyzstan joins the Customs Union, the next contender will be Tajikistan, which was confirmed by Russian President V.V. Putin.

The political confrontation between Russia and the United States of America on some issues also plays a role in the countries’ possible accession to the Customs Union. Thus, in October 2013, the government of Syria expressed a desire to join the Customs Union. According to Deputy Prime Minister Kadri Jamil, all the necessary documents are already ready, and negotiations with Russian partners have already been completed. Negotiations are currently underway with the parties from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Complicating the situation, as in the case of Tajikistan, is the geographical problem - Syria does not have common borders with any of the member countries of the Customs Union.

A counterexample is the situation with Ukraine, in which the issue of integration with one of the associations – the Customs Union or the European Union – was acute. Despite the huge number of foreign trade transactions with the CIS countries, in 2013 Ukraine refused to join the Customs Union, in turn, Russia considered Ukraine’s proposal for cooperation of the “3+1” type unacceptable, refusing selective benefits when trading with the union. In connection with the coup d'etat in Kyiv and the coming to power of a government aimed at integrating with Western countries, now the chance of the country joining the Customs Union can be considered almost zero. However, the situation in Ukraine is changing daily, and, given the different moods of the eastern and western regions of the country, it is now very difficult to predict its decision on the further issue of integration.

In conclusion, I would like to note that when developing the Customs Union, it is extremely important to take into account all external players in the region. This confirms the thesis that Russia’s accession to the WTO is a key factor in the process of Eurasian integration, since it will contribute to a more competent resolution of all issues arising in trade relations between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. According to Russia's obligations to the WTO, members of the union must follow the rules of the global regulator of international trade. Also, the positive effect of Russia’s accession to the WTO will manifest itself in increasing the compatibility of trade and economic relations in the post-Soviet space. Thus, it is completely unacceptable to consider scenarios for the development of the Customs Union without its accession to the WTO in the foreseeable future.

CONCLUSION

Only four years have passed since the entry into force of the Unified Customs Code and the transfer of the customs borders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to the external border of the Customs Union. Only two years ago the transition to the Common Economic Space was made. Of course, for this short term time, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, even under the most favorable conditions, would not have been able to achieve a level of integration similar to that of the European Union or NAFTA. At the moment, the gradual economic integration of the countries of the post-Soviet space is quite stable, but time is needed for tangible results. It is also necessary to remember that in the issue of the Customs Union, many, especially citizens of Belarus and Kazakhstan, are concerned about the possible political background, the so-called return to the times of the USSR with Russia as the dominant state. That is why it is worth once again raising the issue of building the integration of the Customs Union, based on the experience of the NAFTA union, which never pursued the goals of creating supranational bodies and developing new legislation, unlike the European Union. NAFTA's full compliance with WTO rules in the field of capital flow regulation allows it to be used as a model for investment agreements within the Eurasian Economic Space.

Let us now draw several conclusions. To achieve maximum effects in regional integration, the Customs Union must satisfy at least three conditions: maintaining a high share of intraregional trade in the total volume of foreign trade, that is, maintaining high trade turnover between the participating countries; creation of deep production and technological cooperation between the participating countries; carrying out competent policies that take into account the difference in the levels of socio-economic development of the participating countries.

We also must not forget about the significant differences between European and Eurasian integration, including:

1. different levels of intraregional trade ( specific gravity trade between EU member countries in the total volume of foreign trade is many times higher than that in the Customs Union);
2. the absence of a so-called “core” in the European Union; the engines there are several countries that balance each other, when in the Customs Union the main country is Russia;
3. the slight difference in the levels of economic development of the countries of the European Union also does not apply to the Customs Union, where the economic differences between countries are much higher;
4. The driving force of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus should be economic benefit for these states; at this stage it is unacceptable to turn an economic union into a geopolitical one.

If the above-mentioned differences are neglected and the development of the Customs Union is completely set up along the lines of the European Union, it may lead to a situation where Russia will simply end up as a donor state in the regional association.

As for the progress of the Customs Union in the matter of accession of new participants, it can be assumed that over time all developing states of the post-Soviet space that are not members of another regional association will join the Common Economic Space. At the moment, states such as Tajikistan, Armenia and Syria are planning to apply to join the Customs Union. Questions about whether or not to join the Customs Union arise only among those states that have the option of joining another regional grouping - like Ukraine, which plans to join the European Union, or Kyrgyzstan, which has been thinking for a long time about what would be more favorable for the country's economy - integration into the Single Economic Space, or maintaining customs benefits for the import of products from China.

To summarize, we can say that in the development of the Customs Union it is necessary to use a combined approach in borrowing the experience of Western regional groupings. Wherein prerequisite there must be a commitment of all participating countries to the norms and rules of the WTO in all economic relations in the field of trade in goods and services both within the Common Economic Space and beyond.

06.11.2018

Customs Union (CU)- interstate agreement within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The CU involves the abolition of customs duties and similar payments in mutual trade between member countries of the union. In addition, the Customs Union unifies quality assessment and certification methods and creates a unified database on certain aspects of economic activity.

The conclusion of the Union is the basis for the creation of a single customs space on the territory of its members and the transfer of customs barriers to the external borders of the Union. Based on this, all countries in the customs area apply a single, coordinated approach to customs procedures and goods imported and exported across the borders of the Customs Union.

Also, throughout the territory of the Customs Union, equal rights for citizens of participating countries in employment are assumed.

The participants of the Customs Union currently (2016) are members of the EAEU:

• Republic of Armenia;
• Republic of Belarus;
• The Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Republic of Kyrgyzstan;
• Russian Federation.

Syria and Tunisia announced their intention to join the CU, and a proposal was voiced to admit Turkey into the Union. However, nothing is known about specific actions to implement these intentions.

The management and coordination bodies in the EAEU are:

• The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is a supranational body consisting of the heads of state of the EAEU members;
• The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is a permanent regulatory body of the EAEU. The competence of the EEC includes, among other things, issues of international trade and customs regulation.

It would be fair to say that the Customs Union is one of the stages of the plan to strengthen economic ties between some states on the territory of the former USSR. In a certain sense, this can be seen as the restoration of once existing economic and technological chains, taking into account new political and economic realities.

An important aspect of the Union’s activities has become the system of centralized distribution of customs duties paid when crossing the borders of the Common Economic Space.

• Russia accounts for 85.33% of the total;
• Kazakhstan receives - 7.11%;
• Belarus - 4.55%;
• Kyrgyzstan - 1.9%;
• Armenia - 1.11%.

In addition, the Customs Union has a mechanism for coordinated collection and distribution of indirect taxes.

Thus, in its current state, the Customs Union is a way of economic integration of the states that are members of the EAEU.

Official information about the Customs Union can be obtained on the website of the Eurasian Economic Union - eurasiancommission.org.

History of the creation of the vehicle

To better understand the prerequisites and goals of creating the Customs Union, it will be useful to consider the evolution of integration processes in the post-Soviet space:

• 1995 - Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia sign the first agreement on the creation of the Customs Union. Subsequently, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan joined the agreement;
• 2007 - Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia enter into an Agreement on a single customs territory and the construction of the Customs Union;
• 2009 - previously concluded agreements are filled with specific content, about 40 international treaties are signed. A decision was made to form a single customs space on the territory of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan from January 1, 2010;
• 2010 - the Unified Customs Tariff comes into force, a common Customs Code for three states is adopted;
• 2011 - customs control is removed from the borders between the CU states and transferred to their external borders with third countries;
• 2011 - 2013 - the development and adoption of common for the countries of the Union continues legislative norms, the first unified technical regulation on product safety appears;
• 2015 - Armenia and Kyrgyzstan join the Customs Union.
• 2016 - Entry into force of the Agreement on a free trade zone between the EAEU and Vietnam. Statement by the presidents of the EAEU countries “On the digital agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union.”
• 2017 - “White Book” of barriers, exemptions and restrictions. Signing and ratification of the Treaty on the Customs Code of the EAEU.
• 2018 - Entry into force of the Treaty on the Customs Code of the EAEU. Granting the Republic of Moldova the status of an observer country in the EAEU. Signing of the Agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and the PRC. Signing of an Interim Agreement leading to the creation of a free trade zone between the EAEU and Iran.

It must be said that integration processes, with at different speeds and results continued continuously throughout the period described. Legislation and customs tariffs in trade with third countries were gradually brought to general norms.

Goals of the Customs Union and their implementation

The immediate goal of the Customs Union was stated to be an increase in markets for goods and services produced by its members. The calculation was made, first of all, on the growth of sales within the Common Customs Space of the Union. This was supposed to be achieved by:

• The abolition of internal customs duties, which should contribute to the price attractiveness of products produced in the Union;
• Acceleration of the turnover of goods due to the abolition of customs control and clearance when moving them within the Customs Union;
• Adoption of general sanitary-epidemiological and veterinary requirements, uniform standards for the safety of goods and services, mutual recognition of test results.

To unify approaches to quality and safety, an interstate agreement was concluded on mandatory certification of products specified in the “Unified List of Products Subject to Mandatory Assessment (Confirmation) of Compliance within the Customs Union with the issuance of uniform documents.” For 2016, over three dozen regulations on requirements for the safety and quality of goods, works and services have been agreed upon. Certificates issued by any state are valid in all others.

The next goal of the Customs Union should be the joint protection of the internal market of the Customs Union, the creation of favorable conditions for the production and sale, first of all, of domestic products of the Union member countries. At this point in the program, mutual understanding between states turned out to be somewhat less than in matters of mutual trade. Each country had its own priorities in the development of production, while protecting the interests of neighbors was sometimes not in the best possible way affected importing enterprises and the population.

Contradictions in the CU

The Customs Union united states with a common past, including economic, but a different present, primarily economic. Each of the former Soviet republics had its own specialization during the Soviet period, and during the years of independence there were many other changes associated with attempts to find its place in the world market and in the regional division of labor. Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, states equally distant geographically and in structure, have few mutual interests. But there are similar interests. Since Soviet times, the economic structure of both countries has been built in such a way that it requires a Russian sales market. The situation in Kazakhstan and Armenia is somewhat different, but for them, ties with Russia are extremely important, largely for geopolitical reasons.

At the same time, the Russian economy until the end of 2014 grew successfully due to high gas and other raw materials. Which gave the Russian Federation financial opportunities to finance integration processes. This course of action may not have promised immediate economic benefits, but it did suggest an increase in Russia's influence on the world stage. Thus, the Russian Federation has always remained the real driving force of the processes of the Eurasian unification in general and the Customs Union in particular.

The history of integration processes in recent decades looks like a series of compromises between Russia’s influence and the interests of its neighbors. For example, Belarus has repeatedly stated that it is not the Customs Union itself that is important to it, but a single economic space with equal prices for oil and gas and access for enterprises of the Republic to Russian government procurement. For this purpose, Belarus agreed to increase tariffs on the import of passenger cars in 2010-2011, without having own production similar products. Such a “sacrifice” also became the reason for the announcement of mandatory certification of light industry goods, which hit small retail trade hard. In addition, the internal standards of the Customs Union had to be brought into line with the norms, although Russia is a member of this organization (and enjoys the corresponding opportunities in international trade), but Belarus does not.

So far, the Republic of Belarus has not received the desired benefits in full, because... Questions about equalities with domestic Russian energy prices have been postponed until 2025. Also, Belarusian enterprises did not receive opportunities to participate in the Russian import substitution program.

It should be noted that the agreements of the Customs Union have many exceptions and clarifications, anti-dumping, protective and compensatory measures that do not allow us to talk about common benefits and equal conditions for all participants in the organization. Almost each of the CU states at certain points expressed their dissatisfaction with the contractual terms.

Despite the elimination of customs posts within the Union, border control between states remains. Inspections by sanitary control services also continue at internal borders. The practice of their work demonstrates neither mutual trust nor the declared unity of approaches. An example of this is the “food wars” that periodically arise between Russia and Belarus. Their usual scenario begins with non-recognition of the quality of products certified by the Belarusian side and leads to a ban on supplies to Russian consumers “until the deficiencies are eliminated.”

Advantages of the Customs Union

It is impossible to talk about achieving the goals declared at the conclusion of the Customs Union at the moment (2016), internal trade turnover between the CU participants is falling. There are also no particular advantages for the economy compared to the period before the agreements were concluded.

At the same time, there is reason to believe that without the agreement on the Customs Union the situation would have looked even more depressing. Crisis phenomena in each individual economy could have a greater scale and depth. Presence in the CU gives many enterprises comparative advantage on the intra-Union market.

The shared distribution of customs duties between the CU states also looks favorable for Belarus and Kazakhstan (initially, the Russian Federation claimed to transfer 93% of the total to its own).

The agreements in force in the Customs Union provide the opportunity for duty-free sales of cars produced in the territory of the Union in the industrial assembly mode. Thanks to this, Belarus received foreign investment in the construction of enterprises for the production of passenger cars. Until that time similar projects were not successful due to the small volume of the Belarusian sales market itself.

Practice of application of customs agreements

Studying the published information about the creation and functioning of the Customs Union, it is easy to notice that the declarative part, i.e. Ratified interstate agreements and general documents are mentioned much more often than specific figures for increasing trade turnover.

But the Union should obviously not be treated as a PR campaign. There is a noticeable simplification of the movement of goods, a reduction in the number of administrative procedures, and some improvement in competitive conditions for enterprises of the CU member countries. It is likely that filling the agreed upon uniform rules with economic content requires time and mutual interest not only between state institutions, but also between business entities within the Customs Union.

The Customs Union is an organization designed to facilitate foreign economic activity between the countries of Eurasia. Currently in list of customs union countries includes the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. In this article we will take a closer look at the history of the union, as well as the rights and responsibilities that its members have.

Customs Union: stages of formation

The Customs Union was first created in 1995, when six member countries signed the first agreement establishing the organization. Initially, the list of countries of the customs union included Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but later they (for a number of reasons) left this union. The customs union was finally formalized by a document from 2007, and in 2011 all customs control was moved outside the states that are members of the union. Thus, trade and transportation of goods within the countries that are part of this organization is significantly simplified.

At different times, other countries from the continent wanted to join the Customs Union. For example, in 2013, Syria and Tajikistan expressed such an intention. And in 2016, such a possibility was even talked about in Tunisia. On special conditions trade is also carried out with Serbia, which has signed agreements on simplification customs regime with all countries of the Customs Union. Many people mistakenly believe that the list of countries of the customs union also included Ukraine. However, in reality, such an agreement was never signed, since it was not compatible with Ukraine's intentions to join the EU.

Advantages of the customs union