Kazakhstan : Assessment of Costs and Benefits of the Customs

In 2010, Kazakhstan entered into a
customs union with Belarus and Russia. The first, relatively
easy step in the implementation of the customs union was
accomplished in 2010 with the adoption of a common external
tariff, with varying exceptions in each of the three member
countries. It is the intention of the customs union to
eliminate the exceptions, in phases, by 2015. In fact, the
goals of the customs union are much more ambitious than
implementation of the common external tariff. The
governments of the member countries are working to achieve
deep integration in key areas. Clearly, successfully
addressing the challenge of reducing trade-facilitation
costs is a major task that requires significant
institutional development both in Kazakhstan and in the
other member countries of the customs union. It is very
difficult, however, to assess the probability of success
that the customs union will have with the reduction of these costs.