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Belarus suffers big losses because of free trade regime exceptions, first deputy prime minister says

Belarus suffers serious losses because of imperfections of Customs Union and Common Economic Zone regulations and numerous exceptions from their free trade regime, First Deputy Prime Minister Uladzimir Syamashka told the National Assembly on Thursday.

The exceptions cause Belarusian companies to lose some niches of the Russian market, he noted.

For example, the Russian Government`s directive, issued in late 2012, de facto "closed" that market for Belarusian manufacturers of agricultural equipment, Mr. Syamashka said.

Russia`s decision to introduce a recycling duty on used foreign cars will also cause losses to Belarusian companies, he said.

A decision has been make to introduce common production and sale rules within the Common Economic Zone by January 1, 2015, but some issues should be settled earlier, Mr. Syamashka said.

He stressed that Belarusian exporters were too "attached" to the markets of its Customs Union partners, Kazakhstan and Russia, and should expand their presence in non-CIS countries. To solve this problem, Belarus should become a member of the World Trade Organization, Mr. Syamashka said. The efforts to join the global trade body should become much more active, he added. //BelaPAN