Opinions & Interviews

Minister sees no big risks for manufacturers after Belarus accession to WTO

MINSK, 21 February (BelTA) – Belarus’ accession to the World Trade Organization does not entail serious risks for the domestic manufacturing industry, Industry Minister Pavel Utyupin told reporters prior to a session of the ministry’s board on 21 February, BelTA has learned.

“We do not expect any other major risks. We are already working to the WTO rules. All the risks are already behind,” Pavel Utyupin said.

He meant Belarus’ arrangements and commitments within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. “Respectively, de facto we are already in the WTO, while it has not been finalized de jure,” the minister said.

He believes that the advantages of the WTO accession outnumber and outweigh the risks associated with it, because the WTO accession will give more legal instruments to protect the interests of Belarusian manufacturers when their products are not allowed to foreign markets.

As BelTA reported earlier, Belarus expects to join the WTO in 2020.

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