The volume of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover in January-December 2017 in monetary terms amounted to $69.4 billion, showing an increase of 25.1 percent compared to 2016, according to the Committee on Statistics of the Kazakh National Economy Ministry.
The volume of exports in the reporting period amounted to $43.06 billion, thus registering a rise of 31.6 percent.
The volume of imports in the previous year amounted to $26.3 billion, thus showing a 15.8 percent increase compared to 2016.
According to preliminary data, the volume of mutual trade between Kazakhstan and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) amounted to 17,359.6 million dollars in monetary terms, which is 25.9 percent more than in 2016.
The volume of exports to the EAEU countries in the reporting period amounted to $5.1 billion (30.2 percent higher than in the same period last year), imports – $12.2 billion (+24.1 percent).
At the same time, in the total volume of foreign trade turnover of Kazakhstan with the countries of the EAEU, Russia accounts for 92.1 percent, Kyrgyzstan – 4.4 percent, and Belarus – 3.5 percent.
Kazakhstan is the 48th most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).
The country has an export-oriented economy which is highly dependent on shipments of oil and related products (73 percent of total exports). Other exports include ferrous metals, copper, aluminum, zinc and uranium.
Main imports are electronics, machinery and mechanical appliances (25 percent of total imports), mineral products (15 percent), transport equipment (12 percent) and base metals and related products (10 percent).
Kazakhstan became a World Trade Organization (WTO) member on November 30, 2015.
The country officially entered into a Customs Union with Russia and Belarus on July 1, 2010. Since that time, Kazakhstan’s trade policy has been heavily influenced by regulations promulgated by the Customs Union and its governing body the Eurasian Economic Commission.
As a condition of membership in the Customs Union, Kazakhstan had to double its average import tariff and introduced annual tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on trade apoultry, beef, and pork.
However, in accordance with its WTO commitments, Kazakhstan will now gradually lower 3,512 import tariff rates to an average of 6.1 percent by 2020. Starting from January 2016, Kazakhstan has applied a lower-than-Customs Union Tariff rate to food products, automobiles, airplanes, railway wagons, lumber, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceuticals, freezers, and jewelry.
On May 29, 2014 Kazakhstan and its Customs Union partners signed a treaty to create a common economic space known as the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The EAEU is expected to further integrate their economies, and provide for the free movement of services, capital and labor within their common territory. The government of Kazakhstan has asserted that EAEU agreements comply with WTO standards.
Kazakhstan’s government is optimistic that further integration within the EAEU will make Kazakhstan more attractive for foreign investment by expanding market access to those countries.
Kazakhstan is a signatory of the Free Trade Agreement with CIS countries. In addition, as a member of the EAEU, Kazakhstan is party to the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam.
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