The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), a single permanent regulatory body of the Customs Union, reported last week that the Eurasian Customs Union, an economic bloc led by Russia that includes Belarus and Kazakhstan, has launched a join research group with Israel to study the prospects for creating a free trade zone.
Minister for Trade at the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Andrei Slepnev and Israel's Economy Minister Naftali Bennett announced the establishment of a joint research group that will study pros and cons of signing a free-trade agreement between the Customs Union and the State of Israel.
The joint group is comprised of experts of the EEC, ministries and departments of the Customs Union and the State of Israel. The group will present its findings in a special report. Its recommendations will be taken into consideration when the countries will decide whether or not they should launch talks on the free trade area between the Customs Union and Israel.
The EEC said that modern free trade agreements are aimed at creating favorable conditions for the further development of trade-economic co-operation. In addition to the classical issues of liberalization of trade in goods through the reduction of customs duties, such agreements often include other areas of cooperation such as trade in services, measures for facilitating mutual investment activity, and ensuring the necessary protection and encouragement of capital investment.
