Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan does not intend to join the Eurasian Customs Union, a group of three former Soviet republics initiated by Russia, the Azerbaijani state customs body`s head Aydin Aliyev said at a meeting with Minister for Customs Cooperation of the Eurasian Economic Commission Vladimir Goshin on Saturday.

The meeting took place within two sessions of the Customs Cooperation Council and the Global Excise Summit, held at the headquarters of the World Customs Organization (WCO) in Brussels in late June and early July, the State Customs Committee (SCC) said.

Goshin informed the Azerbaijani delegation about the Customs Union and relevant legislation. However, the Azerbaijani side announced at the meeting its decision not to join the organization and plans to enforce its own new Customs Code in the country, the SCC said.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov earlier stressed Uzbekistan`s reluctance to join the Customs Union and other international associations, as it has not been ruled out that they would go beyond economic interests and become political.

The Eurasian customs union is a form of trade and economic integration among Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation which ensures a single customs territory.

Customs duties and economic restrictions are not applied in bilateral trading in goods with the exception of special protective, antidumping and countervailing measures within this territory. The member countries of the customs union apply a unified customs tariff and other common measures to regulate trade with third countries.

The Customs Union of the three countries began operating in January 2012. Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Syria, Vietnam, New Zealand have expressed their interest to accede.

Azerbaijan, along with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, did not join the new free trade area treaty, signed in October 2011 by the heads of government of eight Commonwealth member states.