The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Russia, will not extend the preferential regime for the import of electric vehicles, under which there was a zero duty. This was reported by Kommersant with reference to such a draft amendments prepared by the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).
Since the spring of 2020, the duty for the import of electric vehicles was zeroed until the end of 2021, taking into account the jump in national currencies, the lack of domestic production and to stimulate the formation of the necessary infrastructure. Public discussion of the document ends on May 20. The trade block of the EEC reported that the commission did not receive proposals to extend the zero duty on the import of electric vehicles.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade told the newspaper that the ministry also did not receive such an initiative. They noted that the privilege was introduced at the initiative of Belarus. The Ministry of Economy confirmed the information of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Belarus did not respond to the request of the publication.
The Association of European Businesses (AEB) proposed to extend the exemption until the end of 2024. According to the association, the validity period of the zero duty is not sufficient to form a significant market volume. According to analysts, in 2020 the exemption led to a 1.5-fold increase in the market. Its cancellation will slow down the market and infrastructure development, analysts said.
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