The decision comes into force on December 31, 2020, and is valid for six months: Tyunyan on the new project

The Chairman of the Permanent Committee on Economic Issues of the National Assembly of Armenia and member of the 'My Step' faction Babken Tyunyan wrote on his Facebook page: 'The Ministry of Economy has developed and put out for public discussion a draft decision proposing to temporarily ban the import of a number of goods of Turkish origin into the Republic of Armenia.'

Based on Article 47 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014, and Appendix 7, the Government of the Republic of Armenia decides:

• To temporarily prohibit the import of goods of Turkish origin into the Republic of Armenia in accordance with Appendix 7;
• To notify the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia about this temporary prohibition as outlined in the first point of this decision;
• To ensure compliance with the implementation of the first point of this decision, as stipulated by the law, by the head of the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia.

This decision will come into force on December 31, 2020, and will be valid for six months.

Justification concerning the temporary ban on the import of goods of Turkish origin into the Republic of Armenia:

This decision proposes to temporarily prohibit the import of goods of Turkish origin into the Republic of Armenia. Although the limitation on imports of Turkish origin goods has an economic nature, it primarily assumes a security component, as it is a fact that Turkey overtly supports and supports Azerbaijan's military and terrorist actions against Artsakh.

The Turkish authorities undermine stability in the region with their provocative calls, arming Azerbaijan, and transporting mercenary-terrorists to the region, jeopardizing the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.

Through the prohibition of imports of goods of Turkish origin, not only is an economic sanction applied against Turkey, but also from a security standpoint, the financial supply of the Turkish state treasury from Armenian sources is discontinued, which allows the Turkish authorities to direct these funds to support Azerbaijan. At the same time, it prevents the infiltration of various dangers through the import of final consumption goods from a hostile country.

It is also worth noting that some of our economic agents and a part of the population have already reacted voluntarily to their attitude toward products of Turkish origin, limiting their sale and refraining from purchasing such products.

I also inform you that in the case of limited imports of those products, there will be no shortage of these goods in the Armenian market, as they will easily be compensated by imports from other markets or through local production, which is certainly more preferable.

In 2019, imports from Turkey to the Republic of Armenia totaled $268.1 million. The main commodity groups imported from Turkey include clothing ($69.4 million), citrus fruits ($10.3 million), machinery, equipment, and mechanisms (such as electric heaters and refrigerators) at $35.3 million, oil and petroleum products ($24.3 million), chemical products and related industry products ($23.6 million), and non-precious metals and articles made of them ($21.6 million).

In 2019, based on preliminary estimates, the final consumption goods accounted for about 100 billion drams of the total value of imported goods valued at 128 billion drams from Turkey. The value of intermediate consumption goods is estimated at 28 billion drams.

It should also be emphasized that according to the provisions of Article 47 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014, EAEU member states may unilaterally apply non-tariff regulatory measures with third countries in accordance with the procedures set forth in Appendix 7. At the same time, according to the provisions of Chapter X, Section 50 of the Protocol on Non-Tariff Regulation established by Appendix 7, in exceptional cases, member states may unilaterally establish temporary measures with third countries based on the foundations set forth in Chapters VII and VIII of the Protocol.

According to Section 54 of the Protocol, a temporary measure is in effect from the day it is established for a maximum of 6 months.'