Kyrgyzstan and EAEU. How to develop relations and solve customs issue?

Kyrgyzstan will host a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Council very soon, which will be attended by heads of member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. In addition, there will be various events, during which point issues and accumulated problems will be worked out. Moreover, the society has many questions to the Union, because a number of those problems, which, as it seems, should have been solved with Kyrgyzstan's accession to the EAEU, have not been solved. These issues are also exacerbated by various force majeure factors, such as the pandemic or the situation in Ukraine. Now there are a number of urgent issues that concern Kyrgyzstan and the EAEU at the same time. And these issues require a collective solution. One of these issues is food security, which is caused by the events in Ukraine. As noted by expert Kubat Rakhimov, a food security fund could solve this issue. It would be something like a common cauldron, which would be distributed depending on the shares of the participants. In his opinion, it would be advisable to create a common fund, which, if necessary, could be used to purchase critical food - grain, meat and dairy products. "It was necessary to form some kind of list of things that could really be available to all EAEU citizens without being tied to national borders. As the pandemic has shown, we were faced with the fact that borders were closed, and it was done in such a way that citizens of Kyrgyzstan will only be able to cross the borders by land starting May 16, 2022," the expert shares. It is worth remembering 2020, when, as Rakhimov points out, many people who were in migration mode found themselves socially unprotected. Created food funds could be used to support people who found themselves in such situations. Such funds could be used to regulate prices, he believes. As for Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Union, Rakhimov noted that the country gained more than lost from it. For example, we can remember about migrants, who work in Russia in the order of one million. We must also keep in mind the overall labor market. Migrants form about 30% of Kyrgyzstan's GDP and it is difficult to imagine how it could be compensated for. If Kyrgyzstan theoretically left the EAEU, our citizens would be placed in the same category as citizens of Uzbekistan or Tajikistan; they would have to apply for and pay for patents and pass exams. "Part of the people would have stayed, they have nowhere to go. Part of the people would receive Russian citizenship in an expedited manner. They would move to another jurisdiction, and these are active people, who are able to work. No one in our country wants to calculate how much it costs to raise, feed, and educate a person. We must approach this issue very carefully. The degradation of human capital is a serious issue, and the drain is a threat. If we think nothing will change, this is a mistake, at least as far as the labor market is concerned," Rakhimov said. As for other markets, if Kyrgyzstan leaves the EAEU, it will have to re-establish the customs perimeter on its border with Kazakhstan. This is due to the fact that there is no equipment there, it is all dismantled. In addition, the exit from the common customs space will require the resumption of customs brokers' activities. Businesses, in turn, will have to prepare international documents, CMR, and fill out customs declarations. Rakhimov notes that even now the situation with customs inspection in Kazakhstan is not the easiest, in the case of withdrawal from the Union, the situation will be more stringent. Cargo, as the expert pointed out, will be in the full customs declaration mode, and the passage of transport to the territory of Kazakhstan will require international standards. The article on re-export will disappear, and it, in turn, supports about 15-20% of the revenue part of the entire budget of the country. This, according to the economist, will in turn severely hit the social block. "Many people think that when leaving the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) there will be no need to comply with the regulations, but this is not true. In addition, an important factor after joining the EAEU was the introduction of technical regulations. These are standards for the production of classifications and so on. We can remember the time when goods were brought to us from China with unknown labels. The situation reached the point of complete idiocy, we did not know what we were consuming. Accession to the EAEU saved tens of thousands of lives by ensuring that people did not consume dangerous products. This also includes toys and medical products," the Rakhimov shares. In addition, many of the EAEU's regulations are much higher than, for example, EU standards. In addition, in the case of withdrawal from the EAEU, many migrants will return to Kyrgyzstan, after which there will be a lot of pressure on the labor market. This, in turn, will lead to certain social unrest. Changes in the structure of budget revenues associated with the withdrawal from the EAEU can greatly affect the fulfillment of social obligations by the state, which could lead to social upheaval. "It is clear that the issue is not simple and is connected with the events that began on February 24, but we should not forget there are different conflicts in the same Europe and in the NATO bloc, for example Turkey and Greece also have unrecognized territories. The world is set up in such a way that trade and economic issues are more inertial and conservative than the political context. Raising the issue of leaving the EAEU on the basis of emotions is wrong," Rakhimov continued. As for the current situation on the border with Kazakhstan, the expert notes that improvements should start with themselves. A number of representatives of exporters, shippers and carriers are very negligent about paperwork. After all, no one cancelled documentary obligations within the EAEU and the common market. It is necessary to have documents confirming the presence of a cargo owner, that it is a capable legal entity, that it is registered, and most importantly, that it is a taxpayer. In addition, cargo documents should be - confirmation of its origin, certificates must comply with the requirements and technical regulations of the EAEU. If it is food, then laboratory tests are required. "Our business is very indifferent to the execution of documents, which has been mentioned repeatedly at the government level. There should be fines for those who do not execute documents and use forged fake firms. Some representatives of business use the model of corrupting inspection bodies in the same Kazakhstan, this is actually happening on a systemic basis. We have spoiled our exporters within the EAEU with our liberal conditions, while in fact we should be tough on paperwork, it's the country's prestige. I believe that the root cause is us, not the EAEU market. If you drive on red in the city, sooner or later you will be stopped. Prevention is needed. Once we on our side have fulfilled our agenda 100%, when we make sure that business properly documents the goods that are sent to other countries and that they meet all the requirements, and logistics companies keep proper records and check the cargo, after that moment we can make claims," Rakhimov shares. Kabar News Agency