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EAEU temporarily zeroed import customs duties on tropical fruit puree for juice production 02 Jun 2025 EAEU temporarily zeroed import customs duties on tropical fruit puree for juice production The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission set temporary zero rates of import customs duties on mashed bananas, mangoes, kiwis, nectarines, as well as peaches, apricots and pears. "Concentrated puree from these fruits is used in making juice products, including for children's nutrition. But many of them do not grow on the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union or do not grow in sufficient quantities for industrial processing. Therefore, businesses buy imported raw materials, the prices for which have significantly increased in recent years," Vahagn Ghazaryan, Director of the EEC Tariff and Non-tariff Customs Regulation Department, explained the necessity of the measure. At the same time, he stressed that the validity period of the measure is calculated taking into account investment programs for the development of domestic horticulture in the EAEU States and will be from one to three years for different types of purees. The Decision shall come into effect after 10 calendar days have elapsed from the date of its official publication.
EEC Council approved increased rate of import customs duty on certain types of light industry goods until late 2026 02 Jun 2025 EEC Council approved increased rate of import customs duty on certain types of light industry goods until late 2026 EEC Council approved increased rate of import customs duty on certain types of light industry goods until late 2026 The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission decided to increase the rate of import customs duty on "other printed bed linen from cotton yarn" (code 6302 21 000 0 CN FEA of EAEU) to 12%, but not less than 0.44 Euros per 1 kg until December 31, 2026 inclusive. "The adopted measure of customs tariff regulation will additionally support domestic enterprises taking into account that yarn for bed linen production is also mainly coming to us from third countries," noted Vahagn Ghazaryan, Director of the EEC Tariff and Non-Tariff Customs Regulation Departmen Along with that, he emphasized that the manufacturers of the EAEU countries make products that are not inferior in their characteristics to imported bed linen and offer a wide range of products. The Decision shall come into effect after 10 calendar days have elapsed from the date of its official publication.
30 May 2025 Bakhyt Sultanov: "It is important to maintain a balance of interests between the use of artificial intelligence and the protection of rightholders" Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister in charge of Economy and Financial Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission, spoke at the Astana International Forum about the possibilities and risks associated with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in various sectors of the Eurasian Economic Union's economy. Speaking at the panel session "Intellectual Property in the Era of AI", Bakhyt Sultanov touched upon the issues of dividing the rights and liability in respect of works created using AI. He emphasized the difficulties in determining authorship, as well as the need to develop clear rules and regulations concerning the use of artificial intelligence technologies in scientific and innovative activities. Bakhyt Sultanov underscored the importance of developing international standards and agreed approaches in this area, noting that the EAEU countries are actively working on the creation of national legislative initiatives: Kazakhstan has adopted the Concept for Artificial Intelligence Development for 2024-2029, Belarus is developing a law on artificial intelligence and Russia is implementing the National Strategy until 2030. The Minister drew attention to the fact that the issues of legal protection and enforcement of rights to intellectual property items created using AI are widely discussed by the global community. The Eurasian integration association is developing a draft Action Plan for the implementation of the Eurasian Economic Path Declaration, which includes the elaboration of possible approaches to the legal protection of such items. "At the same time, it is important to maintain a balance of interests between the use of artificial intelligence and the protection of rightholders," mentioned Bakhyt Sultanov. On the sidelines of the Forum the EEC Minister met with Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The meeting discussed cooperation within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the organizations and considered the possibility of holding joint events dedicated to the Eurasian economic integration in the context of intellectual property protection and safeguarding. "The Commission constantly monitors trends in the trafficking in counterfeit goods and the practice of combating violations of intellectual property rights in the EAEU. Annually, we prepare a report that includes data on identified infringements and recommendations for improving law enforcement practice," Bakhyt Sultanov reported. The EEC Minister also met with Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Today, the Commission and the IOM Regional Office are working on a Joint Statement based on the existing Memorandum of Cooperation between the organizations and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, to which all EAEU countries have joined.
30 May 2025 EEC and ITIC deepen cooperation On the sidelines of the Astana International Forum, there was a meeting between Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister in charge of Economy and Financial Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission, and Daniel Alan Witt, President of the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC). It is worth noting that this is the first business contact between the organizations since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The parties expressed their intention to continue cooperation within the framework of the existing Memorandum of Understanding, which, in particular, provides for regular joint activities on tax policy and administration. The possibility of exchanging information and analytical materials on digitalizing tax administration and adaptation of its procedures to the conditions of digital and globalized economy, as well as best practices of integration associations on harmonization of excise taxation were discussed. "I am confident that our meeting will help develop a dialogue between the EEC and ITIC on the discussed areas, will contribute to the improvement of the investment climate and business environment within the EAEU, as well as the implementation of new joint projects for the benefit of Eurasian integration," summarized Bakhyt Sultanov. ITIC is an independent non-profit research and education organization founded in 1993 to promote tax reform and public-private initiatives to improve the investment climate in transition and developing economies. The Memorandum of Understanding between the EEC Advisory Committee on Tax Policy and Administration and ITIC was signed in 2013 and its updated version was signed in 2017. On the Commission's part interaction with ITIC is coordinated by the Financial Policy Department.
30 May 2025 EEC and WOAH develop interaction Valentin Tataritsky, Minister in charge of Technical Regulation of the Eurasian Economic Commission, and Vladimir Subbotin, Deputy Director of the EEC Department for Sanitary, Phytosanitary and Veterinary Measures, attended the General Session of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), which was held on May 25-29 in Paris. The event was attended by delegates from 183 WOAH member countries, including from the EAEU States. The session discussed issues of ensuring security in international trade in animals and products of animal origin. Interim results of work on new international standards regarding methods of animal disease control, as well as issues of animal vaccination against particularly dangerous diseases were considered. On the sidelines of the session Valentin Tataritsky held a number of working meetings. During his negotiations with Emmanuelle Soubeyran, WOAH Director General and representatives of the WOAH Regional Commissions for Europe and Asia and the Pacific discussed areas of further cooperation in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the EEC and WOAH for 2025-2027, including in terms of providing methodological assistance for the clarification of the requirements of WOAH standards to the authorized veterinary authorities of the EAEU States and conducting seminars on veterinary medicine. The parties agreed to strengthen cooperation, in particular, to continue the implementation of international standards and WOAH recommendations in the legal acts of the Eurasian Economic Union. An agreement was reached on further participation of the Commission's representatives and the Union's veterinary authorities in WOAH activities, as well as of the WOAH Regional Commissions for Europe and Asia and the Pacific. "The application of best practical experience of WOAH in the acts of the Union, as well as the active participation of our Member States in the discussion of changes to the standards planned for adoption and introduction into the WOAH Codes, contribute to building the potential of the authorized veterinary authorities of our countries," noted the EEC Minister. "This, in turn, ensures epizootic welfare in the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, development of a common strategy to combat particularly dangerous animal diseases and antibiotic resistance." At the meeting between Valentin Tataritsky and Baox Huang, President of the WOAH Regional Commission for Asia and the Pacific, promising areas of cooperation in applying veterinary and sanitary measures were discussed, in particular, the issues of ensuring epizootic safety in trade in products of animal origin between the Asia Pacific countries. The EEC Minister also held meetings with representatives of the veterinary authorities of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia on relevant matters related to the development of Eurasian economic integration in this area.  The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) was founded in 1924 and is an intergovernmental organization responsible for ensuring animal health, specifically through the development of international standards in the field of veterinary control, monitoring of the global epizootic situation, control of infectious animal diseases, including international quarantine measures.
30 May 2025 EEC discussed issues of improving EAEU customs regulation On April 30, the Eurasian Economic Commission held a meeting of the high-level Working Group on improving customs regulation chaired by Ruslan Davydov, the EEC Minister in charge of Customs Cooperation. It discussed amendments to the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union concerning the simplified movement of containers across the EAEU customs border. The issues of increasing the efficiency of applying the customs transit procedure, as well as the exchange of information on fish catches and fish products were considered. The Working Group participants agreed to continue discussing the most sensitive issues. The next face-to-face meeting of the Working Group is scheduled to be held in May this year.
EEC observes changed business activity dynamics in EAEU countries 30 May 2025 EEC observes changed business activity dynamics in EAEU countries The results of calculating sufficient and leading economic development indicators demonstrate a change in the business activity dynamics across the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. According to the Eurasian Economic Commission, in June 2025, most economies of the integration association are expected to slow down, while the economy of Kazakhstan will move into an upturn phase in business activity. Currently, the economies of Kazakhstan and Russia remain in a slowdown phase, while Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan are experiencing an upturn in business activity.  The leading indicators are a forecasting tool used by the Eurasian Economic Commission to form an idea about the direction of the short-term business activity dynamics in the Eurasian Five countries. They accumulate the most important information about short-term processes unveiling the behavior of economic agents, as well as the main trends in the economy.
30 May 2025 Maxim Ermolovich: "Meetings of regional competition organizations help develop more efficient competition policy around the world" The Eurasian Economic Commission, with the support of the Egyptian Competition Authority, held a working meeting of representatives of regional competition organizations in Cairo. It was attended by Maxim Ermolovich, the EEC Minister in charge of Competition and Antitrust Regulation. Such events, which have become traditional on the initiative of the EEC specialized unit, help international regional organizations cooperate constructively on relevant matters and share experience. The focus of the fifth meeting was on practices for efficient competition regulation. "We promote the benefits of regional cooperation, strengthen and expand interregional dialogue, adapt best competitive practices to the needs of each region and generate new ideas, which ultimately leads to a more efficient competitive policy around the world," believes Maxim Ermolovich. The EEC will continue to hold meetings of regional competition organizations. The fifth meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Egyptian Competition Authority, representatives of UNCTAD, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Arab Competition Network, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, BRICS and the Caribbean Community.
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