Customs Union of Belarus,

Kazakhstan and Russia

• The Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia came into existence on January 1, 2010 between the states of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The Customs Union was launched as a first step towards forming a broader European Union-type economic alliance of former Soviet states

• The purpose of organizing Custom Union:•  Russia…• Kazakhstan…• Belarus …

• The United States is opposed to the Customs Union, seeing it as an attempt to reestablish a Russian dominated USSR-type union amongst the Post-Soviet states

Nominal World GDP and GDP of Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia in 2011.

  European Union: $17.1 trillion (25%) United States: $14.8 trillion (22%) China: $7.2 trillion (10%) Japan: $5.8 trillion (8%) Other countries: $22.2 trillion (32%) Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia: $2.1 trillion (3%)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_Union_of_Belarus,_Kazakhstan_and_Russia

Customs Union Technical Regulations

• Access of products to the single territory of the Customs Union[5] is granted after products have proved to be compliant with the requirements of Customs Union Technical Regulations which are applicable to the product. As of December 2012, 31 Customs Union Technical Regulations have been developed[6] covering different types of products, some of which have already come into force, while others will come into force in the period 2012 – 2015. Some Technical Regulations are being still developed.

The basis for access to the Customs Union Member Countries:

• National approvals/certificates – they are good for access of product to the country where this approval/certificate has been issued.• Customs Union Certificates/Approvals issued in accordance with the 

“List of products subject to mandatory conformity approval in the Customs Union” – such Certificate/Approval is valid in all the three Member Countries of the Customs Union.

International travel

• Citizens of the member states of the union may travel to other member states with just a national identity document, without a passport. Although presently Russia allows citizens of other CIS states to visit without a passport as well, it is expected that after 2015 only citizens of the Customs Union will have this privilege.

• Some countries which want to join to CU:• Armenia• Kyrgyzstan• Tajikistan• Ukraine• Vietnam• United States

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