Tiraspol, 26 November. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Speaking at the international scientific and practical conference The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and the Serbian Republic: the protection of sovereignty amid international turbulence, which took place today in the Pridnestrovian university, Alevtina Slinchenko touched upon a problem of the economic pressure the neighbouring countries have been putting on Pridnestrovie.
In particular, the minister brought up the possible implications the Pridnestrovian economy may face after the EU's trade preferences for Pridnestrovie's exporters expire on 1 January 2016. According to various experts, annual losses may amount to $15 — 80 million, Alevtina Slinchenko noted.
At the same time, she mentioned that the economic and railway blockade imposed on Pridnestrovie in 2006 cost over $320 million. The budget has failed to receive more than $130 million over this period.
Alevtina Slinchenko said that Pridnestrovie's transportation companies could not carry out international transportation of goods, which resulted in $150 million losses for transportation companies and $30 million shortfalls to the state budget. In addition to that, 2,000 employees were laid off.
In her speech Alevtina Slinchenko noted that Moldova replaces one coercive measure with another. Last year Moldova agreed to abolish ecological duties on some raw materials and instead imposed import excises on other raw materials. According to the minister, this would have resulted in $2 million of annual losses and an eight-fold price rise for some raw materials. It is known, however, that Kishinev has abolished excise duties.
Of non-tariff coercive measures, Alevtins Slinchenko pointed out the necessity to provide accounting and financial statements in compliance with the Moldovan legislation and in Romanian. This norm came to be applied to Pridnestrovian enterprises in 2012, but they had to provide statements for the previous years as well, beginning from 2008 on. Last year, Kishinev began to refuse to issue necessary export certificates to Pridnestrovian agricultural producers. Recently Ukraine has banned excisable goods from being exported to Pridnestrovie. Alevtina Slivchenko said that actually Ukraine had begun to impose restrictions on Pridnestrovian imports a year ago without any notification of cause. According to the minister, this coercive measure will cost Pridnestrovie more $20 million.
In her report, Alevtina Slinchenko also mentioned the problem of the joint Moldo-Ukrainian control on the Pridnestrovian border. According to her, any details of the joint control agreement have not been disclosed so far; therefore, it is impossible to estimate prospective losses.
