Some import duties to go down for Armenia in customs union – prime minister

YEREVAN, March 21. / ARKA /. Some import duties for Armenia will be gradually brought down in the Customs Union within seven years, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said in an interview with the Armenian service of RFE/RL during a visit to Brussels, Belgium.

"When Russia joined the World Trade Organization, it committed to gradually reduce some import duties within several years, whereas Armenia enjoys the lowest rates with respect to the same duties," he said.

Sargsyan said there is a long list of goods for which Armenia will not raise import duties after it joins the Customs Union where the duties on the same goods are higher, whereas Russia will be cutting them gradually within several years. 

According to him, these factors make the transition much smoother and the inflationary pressure will not be high

He said the ongoing negotiations not only with Russia but also with Kazakhstan and Belarus, the current two other members of the trade bloc, take into account Armenia’s peculiarities ‘and we should not forget that import duties levied by Armenia on some other goods are higher than those in the Customs Union.” “Therefore, it is not a one way process, " he said.

Sargsyan also stressed that Russia is interested that Armenia has good relations with the EU. Regarding Ukrainian events, he said ‘we should learn lessons form them.”

"We do not want confrontation and sanctions. We want all the problems to be resolved by negotiations. We are extremely interested in this and it is our political position," he said.

The prime minister traveled to Belgium to attend the Summit of the European’s People’s Party (EPP). -0-