Tiraspol, January 10. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The introduction of customs duties by Moldova for Pridnestrovian enterprises is an antisocial, inhumane and absolutely inadequate measure. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatiev said this in an interview with the First Pridnestrovian TV channel.
“What Moldova is doing is an act of economic aggression, an act of social pressure, and all this, of course, is a violation of the rights and interests of all residents of Pridnestrovie, without exception,” Vitaly Ignatiev emphasized.
According to the head of the PMR foreign policy department, Moldova is doing everything possible to completely destroy financial and economic relations with Pridnestrovie. Suffice it to mention the bank blockade, the creation of obstacles in the supply of medicines, the introduction of restrictions on the export of products from leading Pridnestrovian enterprises under an absolutely far-fetched pretext. The introduction of customs duties is also in this category.
“We all understand that these kinds of payments and fees should go to local budgets for the implementation of social programs,” Vitaly Ignatiev recalled. - What the Moldovan side is doing is simply a tribute from Pridnestrovian enterprises and not only. This is a tribute that all residents of Pridnestrovie will physically feel, because these payments will be included in the cost of goods, and of course, no one is going to return these funds to Pridnestrovie. Accordingly, this is money that is literally stolen. They steal from municipal workers, from kindergarten workers – teachers, nannies, from school workers, and so on.”
Let us recall that from January 1, Moldova, in violation of the agreements reached, without warning or any explanation, introduced customs duties on imported goods destined for Pridnestrovian enterprises. As President of the PMR Vadim Krasnoselsky noted, it is still difficult to assess the scope of damage caused by the introduction of duties, but it is obvious that we are talking about millions of dollars a year.
In 2022, Moldova introduced restrictions on the import of medicines, plant protection products, and medical equipment into Pridnestrovie. Because of this, prices for a number of socially important medicines have increased in Pridnestrovian pharmacies, while farmers are faced with rising production costs. In August 2023, Chisinau, violating the agreements with Tiraspol reached back in 2014, introduced a fee for customs clearance of imports and exports of the PMR (0.4% of the customs value of imports and 0.1% of the customs value of exports). Monthly losses of enterprises are estimated at 260-300 thousand dollars. Chisinau also blocked export supplies from machine-building enterprises. Pridnestrovie's exports dropped by 12%, enterprises suffered huge losses, while labor collectives found themselves idle.
