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01 Oct 2024 Vice Prime Ministers of EAEU Countries Awarded Winners of Second Green Eurasia International Climate Competition As part of the Eurasian Economic Forum 2024, the winners and finalists of the second Green Eurasia International Climate Competition, organized by the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects, received their awards. The ceremony was attended by Members of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission: Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia; Igor Petrishenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus; Serik Zhumangarin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Adylbek Kasymaliev, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic; Alexey Overchuk Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as Andrey Slepnev, EEC Trade Minister. The winners and finalists in 15 different competition categories were 57 best climate practices from the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of Uzbekistan. TechnoGroupService LLP, the company from the Republic of Kazakhstan, was recognized as the winner in the special Eurasian Prospect nomination, which additionally evaluated the international cooperation component. It presented the project for installing wind power plants through the use of green financing instruments. The list of winners and finalists can be found on the official website. This year the competition received more than 300 practices from 12 countries, including China, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Cameroon, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Competition partners were Gazprombank PJSC, Promsvyazbank PJSC and the Andrey Melnichenko Charity Foundation.
30 Sep 2024 Andrey Slepnev, "Implementation of digital technologies in trade significantly reduces operational and time costs for businesses" The session Digital Transformation of Trade in the EAEU: From Contours to Implementation was held within the Eurasian Economic Forum 2024 in Yerevan. Representatives of government agencies, businesses and the expert community considered key areas of digital transformation of trade in the EAEU, simplification and digitalization of logistics, development of trade in digital goods, as well as new trends and technologies in digital trade in general. "By some calculations, the adoption of digital technologies in trade more than halves transaction costs and significantly reduces time costs. We already see this in a number of projects that we are implementing," said Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission. At the same time, he warned of inevitable trade barriers if our trading partners switch to paperless technologies, while the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union do not. Today, according to the Minister, a notable part of the digital economy and e-commerce in general is outside of state regulation, so it is necessary to find a reasonable balance between the public interest and business freedom. "The declaration signed by the leaders of our countries, up to 2030 and until 2045, actively emphasizes the importance of concrete steps in e-commerce. Now we are preparing a detailed plan of what needs to be done in this area," said Andrey Slepnev. Among the areas in which the work has been underway for several years, the Minister highlighted digitalization of logistics in relations between rail carriers, as well as the issues of labeling of goods, which provides, among other things, a basis for businesses to manage their inventories. Next in line is development of a basic electronic document flow model in mutual trade as a whole, creation of a register of the most successful examples of using artificial intelligence in trade, introduction of a decentralized b2b system of smart contracts, as well as expanded coverage of e-commerce sections in the EAEU free trade area agreements with third countries. The discussion participants heard experiences and opinions from Victor Sergeev, Executive Director of Sberbank PJSC; Tengfei Wang, Executive Secretary of the ESCAP Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade; Tadzio Schilling, CEO of the Association of European Businesses; Aibek Kurenkeev, President of the E-Commerce Association of the Kyrgyz Republic; Yulia Panina, Chief Operating Officer of KVT Group of Companies; Liliya Shchur-Trukhanovich, Director of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity Development and Regulation of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation; as well as Mohtaram Taghinejad, representative of the В2В marketplace Ecasb (Islamic Republic of Iran). The meeting was moderated by Ilya Kabanov, Head of the Electronic Commerce and Labeling Section of the EEC Trade Policy Department.
30 Sep 2024 EEC Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev Discussed Transition to Full-Fledged Free Trade Regime with Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak On September 30, on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum 2024 in Yerevan, Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, met with Mohammad Atabak, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran, and Dehghan Dehnavi, Head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization. During the meeting, the parties discussed issues related to the transition to a full-scale free trade regime between the EAEU countries and Iran, as well as identified areas of cooperation requiring intensified work that will contribute to deepened trade and economic cooperation between the countries. "The implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Iran concluded last December should be the impetus needed to unlock the existing potential of trade between our countries, including its diversification. The countries of our Union and Iran are set for expanding cooperation in various economic sectors," said Andrey Slepnev. In addition, he reminded that later the same day a meeting of the EAEU–Iran Business Dialogue would be held, which would be attended by about one hundred representatives of Iranian companies, about one hundred and fifty business community representatives of the Union countries, as well as officials. The Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, on the one part, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other part, was signed on December 25, 2023. The procedures necessary for the Agreement to enter into force are currently being finalized.
30 Sep 2024 Fair Consideration of Interests of All Electronic Commerce Participants Discussed at EEF 2024 Session in Yerevan During the Eurasian Economic Forum 2024 in Yerevan, a session Electronic Trading Platforms of the EAEU: Balance of Interests of Business and the State was held featuring businesses and regulators of the Eurasian Economic Union countries, as well as representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission. "To date, the e-commerce market in the EAEU has exceeded $80 billion with a growth rate of 20%. In terms of regulation, what matters now is not to botch what is happening, not to stop the development that has been going on for the past few years," said Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission. He recalled that in terms of fiscal burden, the Union has recently introduced a new system where the customs payment is separated from VAT, which is levied under national legislation in the country of destination. "As for customs payments, at this stage the Commission proposes to keep the same figures that are in effect now," emphasized Andrey Slepnev. He clarified that it is a question of using a fixed customs duty rate of 5% and a duty-free threshold of 200 euros, followed by a gradual reduction. The final decision will be worked out by consensus of the parties. "A separate topic is our future agreement on e-commerce in the EAEU, which we are actively discussing with consumers, sellers and electronic trading platforms. The point is that e-commerce gives rise to unique legal relationships, where the lack of regulation leads to barriers," the Minister continued. As an example, he cited the large number of paper shipping documents that significantly reduce business efficiency. Also, the Union does not regulate the movement of digital goods, there are law enforcement issues when the buyer, seller and marketplaces are located in different jurisdictions, and so on. Andrey Slepnev pointed out the recent progress in preparing the Agreement on Electronic Commerce. Other speakers were Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Nazarbek Malaev, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, representatives of the largest marketplaces and others. The session was moderated by Artem Sokolov, President of the Online Retail Association. The speakers discussed the risks and benefits of special regulation of marketplaces, issues of ensuring the legality of goods turnover, the benefits and risks of e-commerce self-regulation, as well as obstacles to the development of e-commerce in the EAEU and partner countries and operating conditions for foreign electronic trading platforms in the Union market.
30 Sep 2024 Andrey Slepnev, "Regular meetings of EAEU and Iranian businesses help reveal the available opportunities to expand trade and economic cooperation" On September 30, at the Eurasian Economic Forum 2024 in Yerevan, the EAEU–Iran Business Dialogue was held featuring representatives of authorized bodies, business associations and the business community. The series of events included a panel discussion, during which conceptual issues of trade and economic cooperation development were discussed, as well as sectoral round tables that considered practical tasks in agriculture, industry, transportation and financial instruments for trade and investment facilitation. As part of sectoral round tables, representatives of EAEU business associations and businesses also presented their current and upcoming projects. Keynote speakers at the event included Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission; Seyyed Mohammad Atabak, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Gevorg Papoyan, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia; Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation; Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; Mahmoud Najafi, Head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce; Danil Ibraev, President of the Kyrgyz Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; Timur Zharkenov, Board Member — Deputy Chairman of Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs. The participants emphasized that such a business dialogue is especially relevant in light of signing in December 2023 of a full-scale Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, on the one part, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other part, which provides for establishing a duty-free trade regime for 90% of the commodity nomenclature. "We have to work with all our energy, including at this forum, to remove all existing barriers to trade. We all together need to pave a good operating road for businesses to reach each other," said Andrey Slepnev, addressing the audience. At the same time, he expressed confidence that the EAEU and Iran are natural economic partners, and with the fulfilment of all promising opportunities for cooperation between them, the countries will enjoy guaranteed success. "Today in this hall and at the round tables, we have tried to gather the most active businesses of Iran and our countries. I am sure that both B2B meetings and all other contacts are what is needed today," the EEC Minister in charge of Trade emphasized. At the same time, he indicated his own intention to participate in the next large-scale Eurasian exhibition to be held in Tehran in December. "Such regular meetings of businesses, creation of trade infrastructure and trading companies, practical solution of settlement issues — all this is what we have to do to unlock the available opportunities," summarized Andrey Slepnev, estimating the available growth potential of trade turnover between Iran and the EAEU at $12 billion. On the sidelines of EEF 2024, a B2B service was organized that allowed interested forum participants to network and establish direct business contacts with potential business partners. In addition, representatives of the Iranian delegation participated in other sessions of the EEF 2024.
26 Sep 2024 EEC supports interaction between EAEU and Indonesian business communities As part of the Indonesia – EAEU Digital Dialogue organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Kira Danilcheva, Head of the EEC Trade Policy Department's Section of Special Trade Regulation Issues, made a presentation on the prospects of concluding a free trade agreement between Indonesia, the EAEU and its Member States. “The future agreement lays down mechanisms for strengthening cooperation and cooperative ties between the businesses of our countries in the fields of telecommunications, innovation, digital technologies and e-commerce. We invite interested representatives of the EAEU Member States' and Indonesian business communities to participate in future joint initiatives,” Kira Danilcheva noted. The Dialogue aims to promote networking between digital companies to share solutions, technologies, expertise and explore new opportunities for cooperation. The event was also attended by companies from Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia providing their digital services and products in various fields, including healthcare, finance, cybersecurity, tourism, logistics and others.
EAEU unifies marking rules for dietary supplements 24 Sep 2024 EAEU unifies marking rules for dietary supplements The Eurasian Economic Commission's Council has considered a proposal by the Russian Federation and decided to establish unified rules for marking dietary supplements in the Eurasian Economic Union countries. According to the adopted decision, a wide range of food products with a valid certificate of state registration issued for dietary supplements are subject to marking. The Member States may independently determine the introduction date and stages of product marking by means of identification on their territory, sending an at least six months' notice to the EEC. Therefore, the recognition of identification means of other States formed in accordance with the unified requirements will be guaranteed in each of the EAEU countries. “The Commission has adopted an overriding decision aimed at ensuring the legality of circulating in the Union's market of such a sensitive category of goods as dietary supplements. At present using the digital marking system the consumer will be able to verify the authenticity of dietary supplements, as well as get reliable information about the product and its properties,” emphasized Vahagn Ghazaryan, Director of the EEC Tariff and Non-Tariff Customs Regulation Department.
EAEU defined uniform rules for digital marking of beer and beer beverages 24 Sep 2024 EAEU defined uniform rules for digital marking of beer and beer beverages The Eurasian Economic Commission's Council considered an initiative proposal by the Russian Federation and decided to introduce the marking of beer and beer-based beverages in the Eurasian Economic Union countries according to uniform rules. According to the document, the Member States will independently determine the introduction date and the procedure for marking these products by means of identification on their territory, sending an at least six months' notice to the EEC. “National marking operators will interact within transboundary trade in accordance with the procedure set forth in the updated version of the basic technological organizational model of the EAEU system for marking goods with identification means,” explained Andrey Slepnev, EEC Minister in charge of Trade. Given the fact that in a number of Union countries this group of goods is classified as excisable goods, additional requirements may be established at the level of national legislation to apply a tangible medium containing anti-counterfeiting means to the goods and to transmit information on full payment of excise duty.
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