The meeting of expert (working) groups on economic issues, initiated by Pridnestrovie, took place at the OSCE Mission’s office. The Pridnestrovian delegation, led by Sergey Obolonik, included heads of large industrial enterprises, the Union of Industrialists, Agrarians and Entrepreneurs of Pridnestrovie, representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the State Customs Committee, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
As a key issue, the Pridnestrovian side identified the unjustified blocking at the Moldovan customs checkpoints of goods exported by a number of industrial enterprises from Pridnestrovie. Specific examples were provided to outline the export geography and confirm that the exported products are not dual-use items, which allowed the head of expert group and representatives of economic entities to conclude that the blockade measures of Moldova are unjustified. The mentioned nomenclature, as stated, is traditional and for many years has been supplied unimpeded. Moreover, the fact that these products are not strategic goods was confirmed in particular by consumers in Central Asia, the European Union and other European countries.
The need to promptly solve this issue was stated to ensure that the companies operate non-stop and fulfil obligations to their employees and foreign counterparts.
When discussing the problem of fees for export-import customs clearance and environmental pollution unduly levied by the Republic of Moldova, it was noted that these coercive measures are a gross violation of the negotiation process agreements and devalue the ongoing dialogue. They lead to additional expenses of the PMR economic entities, which negatively affects their operational activity.
The mentioned payments charged to the budget of the Republic of Moldova is a violation of the favorable trade regime obligations of all parties involved and has a destructive impact on economic processes in the entire region. In particular, the environmental pollution fee means a double fiscal burden, which infringes the principle of territoriality and targeting of environmental payments and can also lead to the shutdown of some Pridnestrovian enterprises.
The sides also touched upon the inadmissibility of pressure exerted by the Moldovan fiscal authorities on Pridnestrovian economic agents and examined the possibility of convening a meeting of a subgroup on banking interaction.
