Customs Union

The CU is the Customs Union. So an agreement among several states that decided to create a common territory having uniform rules of trading, goods circulation, and preferential customs regimes is called. Their usage allows strengthening political and economical ties between members of community.

The union was set up in 2007. Three countries joint it: the RF, Kazakhstan and Belarus. This been said the Customs Union constantly conducts negotiations about its expanding. Such countries as Kirgizia, South Korea, Tadzhikistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and India have officially declared their wish to join the Customs Union.

To make sure that uniform rules are implemented on legal basis the Customs Union experts constantly develop and put into practice technical regulations. These are transnational standards that have modern requirement to safety and quality of the goods.

Commission is the governing and uniform regulatory body of the CU. Products are put into circulation within the CU and beyond on the basis of its decisions. Local governance is executed by transnational councils.

The CU Commission performs the following main functions:

• macroeconomic and immigration politics;
• setting tariff and nontarif barriers;
• supervision over safety of imported and exported products;
• supervision over legitimacy of trade transactions;
• supervision over imposing and collecting tax;
• development of technical regulations that allows for their speedy and “pain free” implementation;
• purchasing of goods for state needs;
• supervision over monopoly development and having healthy competition;
• taking protective, antidumping, compensatory measures with regards to the CU members;
• keeping books of domestic and international trade transactions.

Only those companies that produce qualitative and safety products can cooperate with the CU. To confirm this fact the CU has a system of checking compliance of the goods to technical regulation requirements. It can be carried out in form of certification, declaration, state registration, veterinary expertise. Based on its results different documents are issued: certificates, declarations, certificates of state registration, veterinary certificates.

To pass compliance check and gain possibility to sell its products in the CU, a company goes to certification agency, submits specific documents and samples of its product for check.