Presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia To Ink Customs Union Agreement on November 27

The presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia will sign the Customs Union agreement in Minsk, Belarus, on November 27, 2009. The objective of the Customs Union is for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a single customs territory.

The heads of state intend to adopt the Customs Code and the Unified Customs Fees, as well as ink relevant customs administration documents, at the summit in Minsk on November 27.

The three countries succeeded in unifying customs fees for over 11,000 commodities, thus creating a united customs territory. Each country would conduct accession negotiations with WTO separately, but the three countries would join the WTO simultaneously.

The Union will create a single market of 165 million people and will start to operate on January 1, 2010. The state customs control at the border between Belarus and Russia will be lifted on July 1, 2010, while the customs control at the border between Russia and Kazakhstan will be lifted on July 1, 2011.

For more information, please contact Aleksandra Noveska at our Macedonia office.