Belarus developing proposals for new regulations on free economic zones in EEU

Under the EEU Treaty, the current regulations governing the operation of free economic zones will expire in 2017. The business community of the EEU member states is concerned about the future of free economic zones.

According to Alexander Nakhayenko, Belarus will consider this issue at the government level in the near future. The Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry also prepared a number of proposals in order to keep the operation of the Belarusian free economic zones as well as their attractiveness for business on par with other member states of the union. According to Alexander Nakhayenko, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes that free economic zones should be, first of all, open to companies producing goods of the fifth and sixth technological phases. There are also plans to provide tax concessions and preferences that will attract business to Belarusian free economic zones.

The prospects of free economic zones in the Eurasian Economic Union were discussed together with other issues at the fourth meeting of the BCCI committee on industrial policy and entrepreneurship. Partaking in the event were representatives of Belarusian companies and organizations, members of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting touched upon the issues of customs tariff and nontariff regulations in the Eurasian Economic Union, the procedure of determining the origin of goods in the union, major provisions of the free trade agreement between the EEU member states and Vietnam, and also the prospects of signing similar agreements with other countries, Kazinform refers to eng.belta.by.