The Eurasian Economic Commission's Council approved the draft Agreement on Electronic Commerce in Goods in the Eurasian Economic Union and sent it to the Member States for internal legal procedures required for its signing.

The Agreement was elaborated as part of implementing the roadmap for creating favorable conditions to develop electronic commerce in the EAEU, approved by the Heads of Government of the Union countries in 2021. It is primarily aimed at establishing common rules for this type of trade in the internal market.

“In fact, the objective of this extensive work was to mitigate the risks of various barriers to free movement of e-commerce goods,” noted Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission. “For the business community, this means the uniformity, predictability, and transparency of regulation throughout the Union, the possibility of using electronic document flow, as well as a reduction in administrative burden and financial costs.”

According to the EEC Minister, for consumers, this means uniform standards for protecting their rights that are no less stringent than those in traditional trade, information security, personal data protection, and restrictions on spamming.

In general, creating a comprehensive legal environment is an important step toward providing favorable conditions for both businesses and consumers in the five countries. Ensuring free movement of e-commerce goods and related services in the Union market gives citizens access to a wide range of quality goods from different regions and opens up new outlets for the business community.

“The Agreement on Electronic Commerce proves that free trade and consumer rights protection are not competing goals, but complementary principles combining to form an efficient, trustworthy, and competitive economy,” Andrey Slepnev emphasized.