Tiraspol, 13 January. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The minister of economic development, Alevtina Slinchenko, briefed the Council of State, which was chaired by the president, on the potential risks Pridnestrovian economic entities may face when carrying out foreign economic activities, the presidential press office reports.
According to her, on the agenda is the establishment of joint Moldo-Ukrainian border and customs stations at the international checkpoint Kuchurgany on the Ukrainian-Pridnestrovian border. The variants that may affect the activities of Pridnestrovian economic agents have been analysed.
According to Alevtins Slinchenko, even with the present regime of importation, risks cannot be ignored. These risks may include extra charges on services provided by Moldova's brokerages, transportation costs, as well as restrictions on the importation of individual goods which are subject to phytosanitary and veterinary control.
«The second variant provides for additional obligations for customs clearance in Moldova and possible non-tariff barriers, for example, the issuance of permissive documents. Besides, this variant may bring about additional restrictions and risks related to increased freight costs, delays in importing some goods, coercion of Prisnestrovian individual businessmen to get registered in Moldova," said the minister.
The most pessimistic variant includes the collection of all customs duties and fees to the Moldovan budget, which completely blocks Pridnestrovie's foreign economic activities. According to experts' estimates, the losses of Pridnestrovie's economic entities may amount to $30 million.
Alevtina Slinchenko highlighted the fact that there are risks for the Pridnestrovian enterprises trading with Russia.
«Since the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU has come into force, the Russian Federation has imposed duties and embargoes on Ukrainian goods. Ukraine has taken similar steps, restricting the importation of Russian goods," noted the minister. «According to our estimates, these circumstances may complicate the export of our goods to Russia and importation of Russian goods via Ukraine.»
There are concerns over a worsening situation in the markets of metal and electric power where Pridnestrovie's two major tax payers, Moldova Steel Works and Moldavskaya GRES, operate.
«According to experts' estimates, the price of finished steel production fell by 52% and that of metal scrap by 40%," said the minister. Besides, there is a risk for Moldavskaya GRES to lose the Moldovan market as since 1 April 2016 Ukraine plans to resume the export of electric power to Moldova.
