To assemble a brand: Russia and Belarus are developing the "goods of the Union State" brand

Russia and Belarus are working on the creation of the brand "goods of the Union State". To date, approaches and criteria have already been defined according to which Moscow and Minsk will classify certain products to this brand, Dmitry Volvach, Deputy head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. According to him, the interim results of this work should be presented at the next intergovernmental consultations of the Russian Federation and Belarus. Household appliances, automotive products, military equipment, and food products can become goods of the Union State, the parliaments of the Russian Federation and Belarus confirmed to Izvestia. The deputies emphasize that the creation of a joint product is a new stage of integration.

Russia and Belarus create "goods of the Union State"

Moscow and Minsk are strengthening trade and economic integration. One of the elements of practical cooperation between the two countries may be the creation of the "goods of the Union State" brand. The Russian government reports that they are actively cooperating with the Belarusian side on its development.

— My Belarusian colleagues and I are working on the issue of positioning the goods of the Union State as a brand. To date, approaches and criteria for classifying manufactured products as "goods of the Union State" have already been defined. We plan to present the preliminary results of this work at the next meeting of the High-level Group, which is headed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and Head of the Presidential Administration of Belarus Dmitry Krutoy," Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.

According to him, if the members of the High-level Group approve the proposals of the Russian Federation, the parties will be able to begin their phased implementation.

— First of all, it will be necessary to resolve all organizational and protocol issues for the preparation of the legislative framework. To begin with, we will launch an initiative as part of a pilot project for several product lines," said Dmitry Volvach.

Russia and Belarus expect that the creation of a common system for assigning the status of goods of the Union State will increase the recognition of Russian and Belarusian brands, not only in domestic markets, but also abroad. This should make it possible to demonstrate the achievements and successes of the Union State's industrial cooperation and joint developments on the foreign market.

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It is worth noting that, in fact, the goods of the Union State began to appear since January last year, after the Russian Federation and Belarus signed Decree No. 3 of the Supreme State Council on a unified industrial policy. The innovations have led to the equalization of industrial products produced in the two countries. Currently, Russia and Belarus continue to work to ensure mutual access to government financial support tools.

— Last year, we secured the participation of Belarusian enterprises in the Russian bus purchase project. This year, we have approved a list for mutual participation in 10 programs, six of them are Russian and four are Belarusian. These are national projects of technological leadership in various fields, state programs for the socio-economic development of the Far East, environmental protection, and others. From the Belarusian side, the list includes programs to support small and medium—sized businesses, forestry and innovation," Dmitry Volvach said.

He added that the parties are currently working on a project to create a single trust space in the field of unified document management in the B2B ("business for business") and G2G ("state–to-state") segments.

What products can become a "commodity of the Union State"

The creation of the "goods of the Union State" is part of the overall effort to build cooperation and mutual trade between the Russian Federation and Belarus. So, by the end of last year, the countries reached another record — 4.6 trillion Russian rubles. Russia's share in the total trade of Belarus is approaching 65-70%. Belarus, in turn, is one of the five key trading partners of Russia.

Oleg Gaidukevich, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Belarus, is confident that the creation of a joint product is a new stage of integration. According to him, this will increase the competitiveness of both countries in today's changing world.

—Freedom and sanctions have shown that we can no longer trust the West, and we are able to produce almost everything in the world, unlike Europe," he told Izvestia.

According to him, Russia has both resources and technology, whereas European countries have technology but no resources. Therefore, joint cooperation between the two countries will help strengthen the economic sovereignty of the Union State.

Oleg Gaidukevich named food products, electronics, machine-building products (especially tractors) and military equipment among the goods that may be sold under the "goods of the Union State" brand in the future. His Russian counterpart, Leonid Kalashnikov, head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, added household appliances, such as televisions and refrigerators, to this list in an interview with Izvestia. Among the products, he singled out dairy products in particular.

— There is a lot of work here, especially considering import substitution. As for quality, Belarusians have proven themselves well in these areas. And even without the support and cooperation of Russia, they supply these products to many countries around the world. If we make these products cheaper at the expense of our oil and gas, then God himself told us to get ahead here," Leonid Kalashnikov said.

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In recent years, the number of joint Russian-Belarusian enterprises has grown. For example, the Russian-Belarusian BIOMASH center develops and manufactures high-tech medical equipment, and the Rosbel Auto joint venture assembles trucks and buses under the MAZ and KamAZ brands.

On May 12, the State Secretary of the Union State, Sergei Glazyev, visited the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ), calling MAZ equipment "an exemplary product of the Union State."

— We see a vivid and very good example of high-tech products that are almost entirely created in Russia and Belarus. It is produced in Belarus, it is assembled in Belarus, but Russian construction materials, Russian components, and a Russian engine are used," he said.

At the same time, the joint production continues to expand. On May 13, the Embassy of Belarus announced the launch of a joint production of high-speed electric trains in Baranovichi for the highways of the Union State.