On May 17, 2018, in Astana, the Agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states, on the one hand, and the People’s Republic of China, on the other hand, which was intended to become a powerful driver in the Astana Economic Forum in terms of cooperation between our countries.

From the Republic of Kazakhstan the Agreement was signed by the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Askar Mamin,

Negotiations on the conclusion of the Agreement were held within two years.

The agreement is aimed at creating conditions for improving mutual trade between the EEU member states and China, but does not provide for the abolition of duties or automatic reduction of non-tariff barriers.

This agreement covers a wide range of areas of trade regulation and cooperation, such as: measures to protect the domestic market, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs cooperation, intellectual property, competition, cooperation in public procurement, industry cooperation, electronic commerce.

In accordance with the Agreement, the parties secured guarantees and the right to demand compliance with the trade regime at the WTO level in mutual trade in goods.

Also, the Agreement provides for a mechanism of transparency, which ensures the transparency of legal regulation systems, the processes of adopting measures of general application and administrative acts, the processes of state bodies, etc. In addition, this transparency mechanism will allow the parties to exchange notifications on subsidies and trade measures, information on internal regulation in the field of trade.

Equally important are the agreements reached in the field of electronic commerce. The agreement will increase the level of protection of the rights and interests of consumers and their personal data, and provide the basis for the development of paperless trade in innovative areas.

In general, the Agreement should serve as the basis for the onward movement towards closer trade and economic partnership with the PRC. The agreement is intended to be a tool for developing information exchange, identifying barriers and promoting mutual trade with China, and will also help to find areas for additional potential cooperation.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/economy/press/news/details/17371?lang=kk