Eurasian Economic Union

In August 2012, following 18 years of negotiations, Russia became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) lowering the average tariff rate on industrial and consumer goods, from almost 10% to less than 8%. Today all issues such as tariffs, tariff rate quotas, and licensing and certification are being harmonized by the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the multilateral entity established by the Russia-Kazakhstan-Belarus Customs Union (the Customs Union or CU) in order to manage the Customs Union. Recently the Customs Union has been enlarged by the accession of two former CIS countries - Kyrghyzstan and Armenia, and received a new name - Eurasian Economic Union.