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Speech at the plenary session of the State Duma on June 22, 2023

The State Duma unanimously adopted the bill “On the accession of the Russian Federation to the Framework Agreement on the facilitation of procedures for cross-border paperless trade in the Asia-Pacific region.”

The bill was developed to develop cross-border paperless trade in the Asia-Pacific region, which is a priority for the foreign economic strategy of the Russian Federation.

It is proposed to accede to the Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, adopted on May 19, 2016, with the following statements:

— in accordance with the national legislation, the Russian Federation considers the concept of “essentially equivalent level of reliability” as providing, among other things, for the existence of legal liability for failure to fulfill obligations arising in connection with the cross-border exchange of trade data and documents in electronic form;

— The Russian Federation declares that “self-assessment of its readiness” implies an independent assessment of its own national legislation, and therefore the schedule for the implementation of the action plan based on such an assessment cannot contradict national legislation.

The Framework Agreement aims to develop cross-border paperless trade by creating conditions for the mutual recognition and exchange of trade documents and data in electronic form across borders, as well as increasing the interoperability of national and sub-regional single window systems to improve the efficiency and transparency of foreign trade transactions. Thus, the document is intended to help make the cross-border exchange of trade documents and data in electronic form between parties legally and technically possible, but not legally binding.

The framework agreement provides:

– cross-border mutual recognition of trade documents and data in electronic form in the process of trade in goods, including their export, import, transit and related services. The Framework Agreement does not contain a closed list of relevant documents and related data, according to which the parties must ensure the conditions for cross-border mutual recognition;

— the need for parties interested in a cross-border exchange to provide a “substantially equivalent level of reliability”, which is the main condition for cross-border mutual recognition. Specific parameters to ensure a “substantially equivalent level of reliability” will be mutually agreed upon by the parties during the implementation of the Framework Agreement;

– formation of institutional mechanisms for its implementation, including the Paperless Trade Council, its Standing Committee and subsidiary working groups, and intergovernmental cooperation, including participation in pilot projects and exchange of experience between customs and regulatory authorities;

— the possibility of cooperation between the parties to provide technical support to each other in order to facilitate the implementation of the Framework Agreement. To organize such interaction, an institutional mechanism can be created, the parameters of which will be agreed upon by the parties during the implementation of the Framework Agreement;

Implementation of the Framework Agreement will be carried out in accordance with the action plan, which will be developed on the basis of the draft roadmap for the implementation of the main provisions of the agreement, prepared by the Interim Intergovernmental Steering Group on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade, as well as the proposals of the parties. At the same time, the schedule for the implementation by the parties of the actions of the action plan will be determined by the parties themselves “based on their independent assessment of their readiness.”

On the draft law, a report from the State Duma Committee on International Affairs was made by State Duma Deputy, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Shamsail Saraliyev. In his report, he noted:

“The State Duma Committee on International Affairs believes that the Agreement fully meets the interests of our country and will contribute to the further integration of the Russian Federation into the international paperless trade system, as well as the acceleration of export-import and transit operations with the states parties to the Agreement. Accession to the Agreement will not entail additional costs from the federal budget. The Committee on International Affairs supports the bill and recommends that the State Duma adopt it.”

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