Measures taken to protect Belarusian manufacturers with tariffs

MINSK, 21 September (BelTA) – The Belarusian Industry Ministry is taking measures to increase the tariff protection of its own manufacturers, Belarusian Industry Minister Dmitry Katerinich said during the video briefing hosted by the National Press Center website on 21 September.

“As of 23 August Russia is part of the WTO. In view of this we should pay more attention to the harmonization of legislation and the tariff protection of our enterprises,” said the official. “Together with the Foreign Ministry we have submitted several proposals to raise tariffs on products like elevators, electric motors, and many other ones”.

In his words, the economic integration of Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan has united the three markets and naturally Belarus has benefited from getting access to a larger market and increasing its appeal for investors. “But frankly speaking, Russia’s accession to the WTO has opened the floodgate for imports, primarily those from Europe. The competition from imports has increased in Russia and Kazakhstan,” he stated.

In view of this Industry Ministry enterprises are busy diversifying markets. They have rather ambitious plans to penetrate markets of South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Cambodia. There are plans to build factories in Pakistan, Cambodia, and South Africa. Despite that the Russian market share is still very large, Dmitry Katerinich believes. Therefore, competition on the market is expected to become tougher. Measures are now being taken, programs have been worked out to improve the competitive ability of Belarusian products. “We believe that only the resolution of the problem can preserve our share on the market of Russia and Kazakhstan,” he said.