The Single Economic Space can help adapt the Belarusian economy to the inevitable accession to the World Trade Organization. The statement was made by Georgy Grits, Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Scientific and Industrial Association, professor of the Continuous Education Institute of the Belarusian State University, at a video briefing hosted by the website soyuz.by on 2 March.

The SES member states failed to join the WTO as one group, said the expert. Russia will be the first one to join the WTO in July-August 2012. Since SES member states have agreed that WTO rules will prevail over regional obligations, Belarus should get prepared for a totally new situation on the domestic market and on markets of its partners.

The WTO requires protective duties on about 2,500 commodities to go down from 10-17% on the average to 8%. About 50 commodities are sensitive issues for Belarus. Those are paints, milk, phones, TV sets. Protective duties on these will be reduced by 7-15%. Protective duties on another group of commodities are supposed to be reduced by 4-6 times. Those are about 20 commodities, in particular, washing machines, transformers, textile, and synthetic fibers.

Domestic automobile and agricultural machinery manufacturers will have to face a new competition situation. Russian manufacturers are concerned, too. They are lobbying for non-tariff protection for their domestic market. Interests of Belarusian and Russian mechanical engineering companies coincide in this area, said Georgy Grits.

Tougher competition has good points, too. The Single Economic Space can be a good testing ground to adapt the Belarusian economy to WTO standards. By 2013 as many as 175 countries will be WTO members. They will account for 99.5% of the global GDP. Those outside WTO will fall by the wayside of the global economy, said the expert.


 

Belta