Shuvalov urges Customs Service to control goods from Ukraine after EU-Ukraine Association Agreement signed
MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) - Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said he urged the Russian Federal Customs Service to ensure necessary control over goods from Ukraine after the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is signed.
"The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry are asking that we maintain necessary control at border checkpoints. And you realize, regarding the variety of risk profiles to which groups of goods belong, it is necessary to seriously prepare for this. But the most important thing is that the situation [when processing goods is delayed] as in summer not emerge," Shuvalov told Russian Federal Customs Service Head Andrei Belyaninov and representatives of a checkpoint at the Russian-Ukrainian border during the Customs Service 2013 international exhibition.
According to Shuvalov, if any "tight situations" emerge, they should be discussed jointly with Ukrainian customs officials so that it does not happen that cargo arrives at the border but Russia is not able to accept the cargo due to various reasons. "These reasons should be discussed with our Ukrainian colleagues in advance so that no unexpected situation arises," he said.
The Russian customs service has already met with its Ukrainian counterparts regarding cooperation between the two agencies after the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is signed, Belyaninov said. "We understand how we will work," he said.
"Trade should develop, but it should do so without damage to the Russian industrial sector," Shuvalov said.
