MINSK, 26 November (BelTA) – Plans have been made to deal with the problem of import duties introduced in Ukraine for certain Belarusian commodity groups before the special duties are enforced. The statement was made by Belarusian First Deputy Industry Minister Gennady Svidersky before the first session of the Presidium of the Business Council of the Eurasian Economic Union on 26 November, BelTA has learned.
The Belarusian official said: “I think we will deal with the situation before the duties are enforced. Consultations will be held. A similar situation emerged a year ago and the decision was reversed. Building barriers is foolish. They will benefit neither Belarus nor Ukraine.”
According to Anatoly Kharlap, Chairman of the Union of Non-Commercial Organizations of the Confederation of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Belarus, Chairman of the Presidium of the Business Council of the Eurasian Economic Union, the last 20 years saw a number of situations in Belarus-Ukraine relations when the countries tried to protect their manufacturers using protectionist measures. “But we were able to come to terms, to work out compromises. I think we will be able to deal with these problems taking into account the contacts that exist between the governments of Belarus and Ukraine, between the economic blocks,” he said.
BelTA reported earlier that Ukraine intends to introduce special import duties as large as 39.2% on certain Belarusian goods as from 20 January 2016.
