Alexander Lukashenko: Belarus’ accession to Customs Union will not trigger price hike

MINSK, 1 December (BelTA) – Belarus’ accession to the Customs Union will not result in a sharp increase in commodity prices, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on 1 December, BelTA has learnt. The head of state underlined that if import duties are reduced, the prices for these products are not supposed to eventually increase. “Of course, these goods will create competition for our goods, but we have protected our positions. Overall, the prices will remain the same for the majority of products,” Alexander Lukashenko said. “If a duty is lowered, a price cannot rise. It will not affect the prices in any way. However if we increase duties on cars, the prices for them will certainly rise. We have not settled this issue, yet, it is very sensitive for us and we put it aside for now,” the Belarusian President explained. He added that experts had calculated that by 2020 the Customs Union will make it possible to achieve a 15% increase in the GDP. “It is a huge amount, billions of dollars,” the head of state said.

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