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Agreement on harmonized system for determining origin of goods exported from EAEU customs territory signed

The document was signed by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council's members.

As previously reported, the Agreement is aimed at unifying the approaches of the Eurasian Economic Union countries in determining and confirming the origin of goods as part of their export beyond the EAEU customs territory, including if the Member States have export regulation measures that depend on the origin.

"The conclusion of this new agreement on the system of determining the origin of exported goods is an important step in terms of the Eurasian integration development. The reached arrangements summarized the lengthy negotiations of the parties on the convergence of existing approaches to the relevant issues," noted Andrey Slepnev, EEC Minister in charge of Trade. "After enacting the Agreement, foreign trade participants exporting goods to third countries will have a document containing all the basic provisions on how to work with origin. This will help in addressing two tasks simultaneously - facilitating access of the Eurasian goods to foreign markets and preventing the emergence of barriers in the Union's internal market".

The Agreement is aimed at creating uniform mechanisms for documentary confirmation of the origin of products exported from the EAEU and establishing uniform rules for interaction between exporters and organizations issuing certificates of origin.

Besides, the document lays down the legal basis for creating a new institution in the Union, enabling to confirm the preferential origin of goods supplied to the EAEU free trade partner countries in a simplified format – the institution of authorized exporters.

Foreign trade participants who have obtained this status will be able to enjoy tariff preferences without the need to obtain certificates of origin for their goods. Therefore, after obtaining the relevant authorization instead of certificates, the receipt of which involves the need to apply to authorized organizations, they will be able to execute documents on their own, saving both their own time and financial resources.

Besides, the Agreement attaches an important role to the issues of determining the origin of goods subject to export control measures. A seamless internal contour is created at the EAEU customs border, the emergence of which will enable the five countries to take a fresh look at the possibilities of fine-tuning export regulation measures, thereby minimizing periodic restrictions in mutual trade.

"While the Agreement is being ratified, we will have to finalize work on the draft Special rules for determining the origin of exported goods, which will be used on the so-called "intra-Union" administration contour and will make it possible to significantly improve the efficiency of non-tariff regulation measures imposed by the Member States on goods exported outside the Union. The Agreement should also give a new impetus to the work on establishing a unified mechanism for collecting export customs duties in the EAEU," Andrey Slepnev added.