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08 Jul 2025 EAEU unified labelling rules extended to red and black caviar, bicycles, lubricating oils, and antiseptics The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission, having considered the Russian Federation's proposals, decided to establish general rules for digital labeling in respect of a number of new categories of goods. In particular, they concern sturgeon and salmon caviar, bicycles and bicycle frames, certain types of lubricating oils, lubricants and special automotive fluids, cosmetic products with antimicrobial agents, as well as disinfectants. "The extended range of labelled goods demonstrates the development of the Union's common labelling system, which allows consumers to be sure of the authenticity of products, as well as increases the competitiveness of good faith market participants by reducing illicit circulation," noted Andrey Slepnev, the EEC Minister in charge of Tra He emphasized that the new commodity groups would be labelled, as before, according to the unified rules. Along with that, the provisions of the basic technological organizational model of the EAEU system for labelling goods with identification means, approved by Decision of the EEC Council in 2019, will be taken into account. Thus, mutual recognition of codes will be ensured, which will eliminate the need to re-label goods when they are circulated within the Union.
07 Jul 2025 EAEU simplifies procedure for importing high-tech medical devices The Eurasian Economic Commission's Board has adopted a decision aimed at simplifying the procedure for importing high-tech medical devices, including advanced magnetic resonance imaging systems, into the Eurasian Economic Union. For this purpose, the list of radio frequency bands for products whose importation into the EAEU customs territory requires no license, opinion (authorization) or information from the unified register was expanded. “The relevant systems have a number of advantages in terms of high quality of visualization, installation and operation. Their technical characteristics do not result in electromagnetic interference,” noted Vahagn Ghazaryan, Director of the EEC Tariff and Non-Tariff Customs Regulation Department.    The adopted decision will make it possible to reduce the financial and time costs of organizations when importing these goods. The document shall come into effect after 30 calendar days have elapsed from the date of its official publication.
03 Jul 2025 Andrey Slepnev discussed work on Uzbekistan's initiatives with Republic's representative at EEC Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, held a meeting with Fanil Kadirov, the official representative of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan at the Eurasian Economic Commission. The two sides discussed addressing the initiatives voiced by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on June 27, 2025. One of Shavkat Mirziyoyev's key proposals concerned Uzbekistan's possible involvement in the work of the Eurasian Reinsurance Company, as well as dedication of separate interaction programs to developing electronic commerce, labelling goods with means of identification and introducing digital technologies in trade. "The EEC attaches great importance to the high level of multilateral cooperation with the Republic of Uzbekistan as an Observer State at the Eurasian Economic Union. We are ready to start working on these issues as soon as we receive additional information on practical proposals of the Uzbek party," noted Andrey Slepnev.  
27 Jun 2025 Andrey Slepnev: "Labelling of goods in the EAEU has proved its efficiency" This was stated by Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, after considering the development of the system for labelling goods with identification means at the June 27 meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk. Since 2019, a total of about 274 billion commodity items have been labeled in the Eurasian Economic Union. The proven effects are market regularization, reduced volume of counterfeit products, an increased number of lawful companies, growing profitability of bona fide producers and increased budget receipts", said Andrey Slepnev. The effect of labelling is confirmed by the data of the EAEU countries. For example, in Armenia, the increase in the number of lawful producers and importers of goods amounted to 7%. In Kazakhstan, the turnover of counterfeit tobacco products decreased by $24.7 million. In the Russian Federation, the market regularization growth reached 22% for dairy products, 36% for light industry goods, 18% for footwear, 43% for perfumes. "The Member States' budgets have also benefited significantly from the introduction of labelling. The increase in tax and duty revenues is observed across all countries and directly depends on the number of categories of goods for which labelling is introduced in each country," said Andrey Slepnev. For example, in Russia, where the maximum number of categories of goods are labeled, the additional budget revenues from the sale of labeled products amounted to $15 billion, while in Kyrgyzstan to $68 million. In Belarus, where national labelling was previously in effect, which significantly regularized the market even before the introduction of the all-Union rules, the additional budget revenues reached $4.64 million. The next step will be further improvement of the labelling system to better combat illegal products.  "The first priority is to strengthen the role of national labelling systems for controlling the legality of origin and safety of goods," emphasized Andrey Slepnev. In addition, the all-Union work will continue on the technological improvement of the EAEU labelling system and on the legal safeguarding of the freedom of movement of labeled goods.
27 Jun 2025 EAEU and UAE signed economic partnership agreement On the sidelines of the June 27 Supreme Eurasian Economic Council's meeting in Minsk, an Economic Partnership Agreement was signed between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, on the one part, and the United Arab Emirates, on the other part. The document was signed by: Mher Grigoryan, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia; Natalia Petkevich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus; Serik Jumangarin, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Daniyar Amangeldiev, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic; Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission; as well as Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates is one of the EAEU's main trading partners among the Gulf countries. The signed Economic Partnership Agreement is expected to mark a new milestone in trade relations with the UAE and take mutual trade to a new level. The work to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EAEU and the UAE, aimed at maximizing cooperation, lasted two and a half years. The created conditions will significantly increase trade turnover between the parties. "Within the framework of the new trade regime being established, the Emirati party has ensured preferential access for 86% of the commodity nomenclature. The Union's concessions cover 85% of the partner's commodity nomenclature," noted Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission. He specified that the preferential export coverage for our countries will extend to over 98% of current exports, or more than $12.1 billion in value terms. As a result of liberalizing the trade regime, the average rate applied by the UAE to EAEU goods will be reduced from 5% to 0.6%. Thus, annual savings on import customs duties are estimated at more than $260 million. In terms of goods, preferential access will be granted to key EAEU agricultural goods such as grains (wheat, barley, corn), meat (cattle, mutton, offal), poultry meat, eggs, dried vegetables (chickpeas, peas, lentils, beans), vegetable oil, dairy products (whole milk, milk powder, yogurts, whey, butter, cheese), confectionery, honey, mineral water, jams, chocolate. In terms of the industrial sector, concessions are granted to the following categories of goods: metallurgy products (rolled alloy steel products, hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel, finished ferrous metal products, pipes, sections and angles, iron, aluminum and copper wire, aluminum foil, etc.), petroleum products (including light and other distillates), timber products (boards, plywood, pallets, furniture, etc.), pulp, printing products, drilling tools, and a wide range of mechanical equipment, from turbines to certain types of pumps. Liberalization will also affect electrical equipment (generator units, primary elements and primary batteries, electric batteries, etc.), railway containers, motor vehicles including special machinery, cosmetics (hair products, perfumes, deodorants, etc.), chemical products (paints, oils, surfactants, fertilizers) and medicines. The United Arab Emirates will be able to increase supplies of a wide range of consumer goods. These involve cosmetics, perfumes, watches, certain types of clothing. "The agreement is really ambitious, and not only in terms of tariff liberalization, but also in terms of the regulatory environment it shapes," Andrey Slepnev told. According to him, the document enshrines provisions that meet the best international standards regarding e-commerce, economic cooperation and involvement of SMEs in foreign economic activities between the EAEU countries and the UAE. "Our trade has more than tripled since 2020. Thanks to the enthusiasm of businesses and active work of the EEC and regulators of our countries in the near future once the agreement is effective, the trade turnover may exceed $20 billion," the EEC Minister in charge of Trade expressed confidence. Once signed, the economic partnership agreement will be submitted for ratification procedures in the UAE and EAEU countries required for its enactment.
27 Jun 2025 EAEU and Mongolia concluded interim trade agreement On the sidelines of the June 27 Supreme Eurasian Economic Council's meeting in Minsk, an Interim Trade Agreement was signed between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, on the one part, and Mongolia, on the other part. The document was signed by: Mher Grigoryan, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia; Natalia Petkevich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus; Serik Jumangarin, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Daniyar Amangeldiev, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic; Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission; as well as Uchral Nyam-osor, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia and Minister of Economy and Development. The signed agreement marks a new stage in the development of trade relations between the EAEU countries and Mongolia. It covers 367 commodity sub-items for each party, on which customs duties will be zeroed out or reduced from the date the document enters into force. The agreement is concluded for three years with a possibility to renew it for an additional three-year period. "According to statistics, tariff preferences will cover $2 billion of EAEU exports to Mongolia, i.e. more than 90%. The agreed preferences will allow EAEU companies to save up to $100 million annually," noted Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission. As he explained, in accordance with the signed trade agreement agriculturists of the EAEU countries will have preferential conditions for supplying to the Mongolian market such essentials as wheat, corn, dairy products, vegetable oils, meat and poultry products, sugar, confectionery, cheese, mineral water and alcoholic beverages. As for industrial goods, growth in supplies is forecast for metallurgy products (ferroalloys, hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel, rods, angles, pipes, etc.), motor vehicles (cars, buses, trucks, special machinery, automotive components, trailers, etc.), products of railway engineering and chemical industry (polymers, plastic sheets and parts), tires, nitrogen fertilizers, medicines, etc. In turn, Mongolian goods with preferential access will be meat (horse meat, cattle meat, mutton, canned meat, offal), dairy products (yogurts, cheese), light industry goods (wool, yarns), as well as finished light industry products of high-quality, including knitted and textile clothing. Possibilities for further cooperation are set out in the non-tariff part of the agreement: in technical regulation, sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary measures, customs cooperation, e-commerce and economic cooperation. "Over the past few years, trade turnover between the EAEU and Mongolia has already grown more than one and a half times. We expect that once the agreement is operational, this trend will be maintained and reinforced, which will allow us to increase our trade turnover to $3 billion," Andrey Slepnev stated. Once signed, the Interim Trade Agreement will be submitted for ratification procedures in Mongolia and the EAEU countries required for its enactment.
Winners of Third Green Eurasia International Climate Competition Awarded 26 Jun 2025 Winners of Third Green Eurasia International Climate Competition Awarded On June 26 in Minsk on the sidelines of the 4th Eurasian Economic Forum the results of the third Green Eurasia international climate competition, organized by the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects (ASI), were announced. The main objectives of the competition are to identify technology leaders of the green agenda aimed at sustainable development of the Eurasian Economic Union states and promote efficient practices of climate mitigation and adaptation. "It is encouraging to see that the competition continues to gain momentum. This year we already have 16 participating countries, and not only from the EAEU and the Eurasian continent. Specifically, several African states took part in the competition," noted Andrey Slepnev, EEC Minister in charge of Trade. He emphasized that the competition is based on a combination of initiative, environmental friendliness and economic efficiency to ensure that climate practices are in line with the ideas of economic development. An important condition of the competition is that solutions proposed by participants could be replicated, becoming available to all. 41 participants won the competition in 2025: 25 from Russia, five from Belarus, two from China and India, respectively, one from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Moldova, Ethiopia and Senegal. Additionally, the organizers highlighted two practices in the cross-cutting category "Eurasian Perspective", recognizing projects with an international cooperation component, in the implementation of which several countries were involved. On the same day, a presentation of the Green Eurasia competition projects was held, during which the experts evaluated the practices of the winners and runners-up. The third Green Eurasia competition received 295 entries from Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. The practices with the highest climate mitigation and adaptation efficiency were expertly evaluated and selected across 10 categories.
26 Jun 2025 Andrey Slepnev: "Today the geography of the Eurasian Agroexpress project is significantly expanding" This was stated by Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, addressing the participants of the session "Eurasian Agroexpress — New Horizons and Possibilities" in the framework of the 4th Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk. "The Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States position themselves as an important element of global agricultural production and are ready to make their substantial contribution to international food security. This is what we see as the mission of our industry, and it is necessary to ensure quality logistics for that," the EEC Minister emphasized. According to Andrey Slepnev, high-quality, inexpensive and fast logistics enables entire regions to unlock their agricultural potential. Notably, during its functioning the Eurasian Agroexpress has managed to ensure a stable delivery schedule, primarily in the direction of China. "I would point out that while the project started as focused on Southeast Asia and the Chinese market, today its geography is expanding significantly. It is good that practical work has begun on the North-South corridor — a promising direction for agrifood products," told Andrey Slepnev. He drew attention to the fact that in this case it is Iran as well as other countries in the region. For example, it would be interesting to include the United Arab Emirates in the Eurasian Agroexpress project. An economic partnership agreement with this country is scheduled to be signed tomorrow, with an important component of trade in agricultural produce. In addition, work is underway with Mongolia, the EAEU's closest partner and simultaneously a transit country in the direction of China. The agreement, which will also be signed tomorrow with Mongolia, offers significant prospects for growth of supplies. Moreover, in this case it is possible to talk not only about the supplies of agricultural produce from the EAEU, but also about the imports of Mongolian meat and dairy products, in which our countries are interested. Eurasian Agroexpress is an integration project aimed at ensuring accelerated rail and multimodal transportation of agricultural and food cargoes both within the Union and to third countries. Over the three years of project implementation, more than 1.5 million tons of cargoes have been transported, of which more than half refrigerated. As of year-end 2024, the volume of transported cargoes increased by 23% compared to the starting year 2022. 
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