APR News

The EEC Board decided to expand the list of cases in which it is allowed to use the procedure of deferred determination of the customs value of goods.
Starting from December 2, 2016, foreign trade operators (FTO) of the Eurasian Economic Union states may use the delay in determining the customs value of goods, when at the time of customs declaration the exact amount of licensing and other similar payments for the use of intellectual property objects is not known yet. Those may be payments for patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc. The same applies to cases when at the time of customs declaration the exact amount of revenue from further sale or use of the imported goods, directly or indirectly payable to the seller, is not known yet.
The EEC Board also increased the period of time for which the definition of the exact custom value of the goods can be postponed. Now, foreign trade operators can take up to 15 months instead of the current two months to determine the exact value.

The ASEAN Women’s Circle (AWC) held its annual flagship Bazaar with the theme “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” on November 2-3, 2016 at the ASEAN Secretariat. The two-day event was attended by ASEAN Permanent Missions, Embassies and Dialogue Partners as well as over 70 vendors and exhibitors.
“The bazaar serves as an ideal showcase of unique and diverse products from different ASEAN Member States and different parts of Indonesia. The bazaar is also a platform to raise the profile of every country’s rich culture,” said AWC President, Mrs Ugi Pramono.
Items such as handicrafts, batiks, fashion accessories, carpets, home accessories, kids’ wears and toys, apparel for men and women and different cuisines were sold during the bazaar.
In addition, a lucky draw where guests and participants could win prizes ranging from air-tickets, hotel and restaurant vouchers, and other attractive items was organized on the sidelines of the bazaar.
The AWC bazaar is AWC’s annual fund-raising event.
Press-release at the official ASEAN web-site

Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the EEC, Tatyana Valovaya met State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Davaasuren Damdinsuren in Moscow at the headquarters of the Eurasian Economic Commission on November 1-2, 2016. They agreed to hold a business forum involving representatives of Business Council of the Eurasian Economic Union and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Mongolia.

ASEAN to deepen closer cooperation on connectivity with Dialogue Partners
The ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC) held a consultation on ASEAN Connectivity with Dialogue Partners, namely Australia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and the United States of America, to socialise the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and discuss possible cooperation on Connectivity on October 19, 2016.
H.E. Ambassador Latsamy Keomany, Permanent Representative of Lao PDR to ASEAN and ACCC Chair, highlighted that “MPAC 2025 will require partnerships with our Dialogue Partners and other external partners for effective implementation. We need an inclusive process that helps in defining the needs of ASEAN and the opportunities for our peoples and partners.”
A separate workshop will be convened in early 2017 to further develop the various MPAC 2025 initiatives into project proposals.
Press-release at the official ASEAN web-site

On October 20, 2016 the Advisory Committee on Technical Regulation, Sanitary, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Measures under the Board of the EEC reviewed a wide range of issues in this sphere. The meeting was chaired by the Director of the Technical Regulation and Accreditation Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission Arman Shakkaliev.

The session was one of the key events of the first day of the Russian-Asian International Business Forum held on November 1, 2016. The event was aimed to increase the awareness of the Russian business about the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Eurasian Economic Union conjunction and activities of one of the entities established to support the implementation of this initiative - the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC) and its bodies.

Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Industry and Agroindustrial Complex of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Sergey Sidorskiy met the President of the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ICIE) Victor Glukhikh on November 1, 2016.
Mr. Sidorskiy and Mr. Glukhikh discussed the issues of the use of the potential of scientific and technical tools available in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): the Eurasian Center of High Technologies (ECHT) and 11 Eurasian Technology Platforms (ETPs) created in October 2016.

The draft documents on development of inter-state cooperation between the countries of the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEU) in research and innovation were approved at the session of the Advisory Committee for Agroindustrial Complex under the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission chaired by the Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Industry and Agroindustrial Complex of the EEC Sergey Sidorskiy on October 31, 2016. They include the procedure for organization of joint scientific & research and experimental & design works in agroindustrial sector and the Commission Board Recommendation on Coordination of scientific and innovation activities of the EAEU Member States EEMA in agroindustrial sector.

The EEC Board adopted establishment of the Advisory Board for interaction of the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Business Council of the Eurasian Economic Union. The Advisory Board will be a platform where, continuously and together with business associations of the countries of the Union, strategic and systemic issues of development and functioning of integration associations will be discussed.
The new Board will become the legal successor of the Advisory Board for interaction of the Eurasian Economic Commission and Belarusian-Kazakh-Russian business dialogue, which was formed in 2013. During its operation, organizational and legal framework was created for participation of representatives of the business community at sessions of the Advisory Committees under the EEC, as well as for operative application of members of the Advisory Board to the Commission through back offices placed on the EEC web-site.

On October 31, 2016 Almaty hosted a session of the expert group of the Eurasian Economic Commission on the use of state and interstate input-output tables to outline and assess the integration potential in the Eurasian Economic Union.
The session was chaired by the Deputy Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Department of the EEC, Galina Islamova. It was attended by members of the expert group and invited experts: representatives of national statistical offices, ministries of the economic bloc, national customs services of the States of the Union, as well as structural subdivisions of the Commission.