Belarus to ratify agreement on Customs Union operation in case of entering WTO

MINSK. November 3. KAZINFORM Belarusian MPs are set to ratify an agreement on the operation of the Customs Union within the framework of the multilateral trading system, BelTA learnt from Vitaly Busko, Chairman of the Permanent Commission for International Affairs and Links with the CIS of the House of Representatives of Belarus.

According to the MP, the agreement will give the right to any Customs Union member state to join the World Trade Organization on its own. "There were plans to enter the organization together, as a single block of the three states. However, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan have changed their mind and decided to do that separately. This agreement is aimed to remove barriers on the way to the WTO for the Customs Union member states," Vitaly Busko said.

According to BelTA, the most important requirement of the agreement is harmonization of the entire legal framework of the Customs Union participating states with the rules and principles of the WTO. This pertains to tariff and non-tariff regulations in foreign trade, among other things.

The MP emphasized that the agreement allows each party to stick to some provisions of the Customs Union if they are more liberal compared with WTO agreements and do not contradict them. At the same time, the rights and obligations of the parties stipulated by WTO agreements cannot be abolished or restricted by the Customs Union.


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