Russia Is a Member State of the EAEU.

Are There Any Special Competition Rules

in the EAEU?
Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization created for regional
economic integration. In EAEU there is free trade of goods, services, capital and
workforce. At the same time the member states are trying to introduce a united
economic policy.
The member states include 5 ex-USSR republics, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. The Union was formed to multilaterally transform,
cooperate and raise the level of economies of the participating countries in the
international arena, to ensure conditions for continuous development in order to
strengthen and improve the living standards of the population in the EAEU.
The EAEU in the process of formation, development and deepening of integration
can influence international processes, both economic and political, based on the
following:
1) the Union countries collectively manage vast resources, both human (4.4%
of the world's population lives in the territory of the EAEU) and natural
resources (16.4% of the Earth’s land, 25% of the main types of minerals fall
on the territory of the EAEU). About 40% of the world's natural gas
reserves, 25% of forests, 25% of coal, 20% of oil, 13% of arable land and
11% of fresh water are located on the territory of the EAEU;
2) The EAEU has an exceptional transcontinental geographical position, which
helps to strengthen the union’s competitiveness on the world stage and
create transport corridors at the regional and global levels. All this increases
the scale of trade flows between Europe and Asia.
3) the newest point of economic activity is currently being formed on the
territory of the EAEU, which in the future is most likely to become the
engine of world development.
But one of the most important advantages that the EAEU possesses and which no
other integration group in the world has any more is its common history and
experience in joint business activities. As early as the early 1990s, the unified
industrial, transport, and energy complexes became the driving forces of the
process of resuming a constructive dialogue between the new independent
countries and the transition from mutual reproaches and accusations to economic
cooperation. The absence of a language barrier, a common history and
understanding of national cultures - all this is now an important factor and at the
same time a driving force of Eurasian integration processes.
One of the catalysts for Eurasian integration was the 2008 global financial and
economic crisis. The widespread drop in markets and production has served as an
incentive for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia to search for new effective formats
for cooperation that would ensure sustainable economic growth. As a result, the
Customs Union of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the
Russian Federation began its work on January 1, 2010, within the framework of
which a single customs tariff, a single nomenclature of foreign economic activity
were established, the Customs Code of the Customs Union was adopted and a
supranational regulatory body was created - the Commission of the Customs
Union.
On January 1, 2015, the next stage of integration began, i.e. from the moment of
functioning of the new integration association - Eurasian Economic Union.
Partially this was due to sanctions against Russia after annexation of Crimea as
Russia was trying to achieve stronger positions with its allies.
Firstly, the entry into force of the EAEU Treaty at least demonstrates that
integration processes in the post-Soviet space are continuing.
Secondly, the agreed documents of the Eurasian Union facilitate the working
conditions of Russian business, especially for medium and small enterprises.
Thirdly, the creation of the EAEU will lead to the strengthening of Russia's
position within the BRICS. For example, in the BRICS system, EAEU countries
can provide the market with all mineral resources, as well as labor.
Close integration into the single EAEU market will contribute to the fact that in
large alliances Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan will act as a
single player. To speak in trade negotiations with third countries as part of the
Eurasian Economic Union is much more profitable than alone. This gives a
stronger position due to the larger market and the consolidated position of member
states.
However, for integration to have positive effects, it is necessary not only to expand
the number of participants in the union, but also to deepen existing cooperation
between the EAEU member countries. First of all, in order to achieve the
maximum economic effect from the single market, it is necessary to reduce the so-
called non-tariff barriers in mutual trade.
For a long time Russia was focused on the import of consumer goods, as a result of
which its own production fell into decay, and the country turned into one of the
largest importer of manufactured goods.
The impetus for import substitution was the introduction in 2014 of anti-Russian
sanctions. As a result, an import substitution program was launched in the Russian
Federation. The initiators of the sanctions were the United States and EU countries.
In this connection, it can be argued that cooperation with the EAEU is more
promising for the Russian Federation, and, specifically, the Union will facilitate
import substitution.