No major impact from WTO rules in Customs Union

         It has been a year since WTO rules were introduced in the Customs Union and no major changes in commodity flows have been registered. The statement was made by Andrei Slepnev, Minister for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission. According to Andrei Slepnev, longer term effects of the WTO rules may surface later on. “Competition will gradually increase. Customs Union manufacturers should be ready to face more pressure,” he said. The Minister said that in the last 12 months the largest import growth has been registered in food and light industry products. This sphere is easily affected by customs and tariff regulation changes, he remarked. 
       Andrei Slepnev reminded that the second phase of the reduction of customs duties took place in the Customs Union on 1 September 2013 as part of Russia’s arrangements with the World Trade Organization. The reduction affected 1,500 commodities or over 10% of the total number of commodity titles. The influence of the change can be evaluated only after some time, noted the Minister.