Russia and Belarus are discussing an integration plan for the next three years

Russia and Belarus are preparing to approve a new integration plan for another three years – the previous one was completed by 90%, head of the Russian government Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Union State. In addition to the measures common to the EAEU, harmonization affected, in particular, the rates of indirect taxes – a supranational tax committee will be launched to monitor their payment. Most of all, however, the parties are concerned about industrial policy – Minsk is waiting for access to government procurement and subsidies, while Moscow is proposing to introduce uniform requirements for the localization of manufactured products.

The governments of Russia and Belarus have prepared a draft of the main directions for implementing the provisions of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State for another three years – it was discussed on Wednesday at meeting of the Council of Ministers Union State, it must be approved by the heads of countries.

The new plan contains measures to unite the energy and transport markets, level the playing field and protect consumer rights, the Ministry of Economy reported.

The plan for the previous three-year period (until 2023) has been completed by 90% – this is more than 990 agreed upon events, noted Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. In particular, systems for traceability of goods, transport, veterinary and phytosanitary control were launched to track mutual trade. The launch of a supranational tax committee is also being prepared – it will monitor the implementation of the Treaty on General Principles of Taxation on Indirect Taxes. “He will monitor how information about taxpayers is transferred to the integrated indirect tax administration platform,” explained Mikhail Mishustin. According to the head of the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, Maxim Reshetnikov, both countries already have uniform VAT and excise tax rates for businesses and a unified approach to accounting. Business Ambassador of Business Russia in Belarus Dmitry Kurnosenko notes that based on the data obtained, the state will be able to coordinate risk management, and business will receive “another tool to protect their economic interests by reducing risks in the process of implementing foreign trade agreements.”

The harmonization of industry support measures is also being discussed – the Russian side proposes to prepare a regulatory framework for introducing uniform requirements for the localization of manufactured products, while Minsk is counting on “completely barrier-free” access for manufacturers to government procurement and subsidies.

Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko also proposed agreeing on common measures to protect the domestic market of the two countries and “promote domestic software.” So far, access to government procurement is actually limited by the problem of recognizing an electronic digital signature (EDS) – this requires the signing of a separate international agreement. The problem has not been resolved at the EAEU level either – earlier the EEC proposed to vest the commission council with powers to regulate the mutual recognition of digital signatures.

The demand for products of Belarusian manufacturers, however, is supported by a shortage on the Russian market – “companies are actively placing orders with Belarusian enterprises,” said Roman Golovchenko, noting that the increase in supplies to Russia (trade turnover this year increased by another 8%) made it possible to “replace the loss of Belarus’s shortfall in exports to unfriendly countries is more than 80%.” The volume of Russian investments in the country has increased by a third over the year – the Russian Federation accounts for more than 60% of all foreign investments in the union republic. To support joint investment projects, in November 2005, Minsk received a loan in the amount of 105 billion rubles.

Given the restrictions on trade with Europe, Russia has also become a key transit market for Belarusian goods. In logistics, the parties signed an agreement on shipping, which allows the transportation of goods and passengers along the inland waterways of the two countries, as well as an agreement on international road transport – it involves the gradual abolition of the current licensing regime for the transportation of goods and the simplification of their export to third countries.

Tatiana Edovina