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Some aspects of the EAEU digital trade in the foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The paper presents the main factors of the development of digital integration in the field of trade and economic relations in the foreign policy of Kazakhstan within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The authors discuss the importance of developing international relations with partner countries and key documents on establishing relations. Paper highlights the reasons for the low dynamics of processes for building ways of developing digital trade in the EAEU. The authors provide a review of the regulatory framework for the development of digital trading platforms, as well as an analysis of current trends in the framework of this issue. An important aspect of the study was the problem of digitalization in the field of regulation of conditions for the EAEU member countries as players in the digital trading ecosystem; analysis of transnational interactions for participants in the integration process. The paper discusses the promising directions of development of trade and economic relations in the digital economy, identifies the key problems that are important for their further solution to improve the effectiveness of relations between Kazakhstan and the participants of the integration union.

Introduction

The first President of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev first initiated an idea in 1994 about the need to form a single market for trade and economic relations within the framework of Eurasian integration. However, the real process of implementing this idea began only at the end of 2009, when a group of countries of the former USSR and now the EAEU partners (Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia) reached a new level of international relations by signing an agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union on 29 May 2014.

The Eurasian Union can be described as a model of classical integration, aimed at the process of expanding trade and economic relations starting with the free movement of goods and services, leading to the mobility of labor resources, the development of the labor market and the intensification of international relations, which are directly related to the formation of new forms of EAEU integration partnership. The goal of the creation of the EAEU is comprehensive modernization, development of cooperation and increasing the competitiveness of the national economies of the Member States of the Eurasian Union.

At present, the presidents of the post-Soviet countries that are members of the Eurasian Economic Union — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia — have not yet adopted development strategies that are oriented for the next five years. The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the Presidents of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan — Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan — Sooronbai Jeenbekov, Moldova — Igor Dodon, and Russia — Vladimir Putin, as well as the chairman of the Eurasian Collegium and of the Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich took part in the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council through a video-conference.

The key issue on the agenda of the meeting was the discussion of the strategic development of Eurasian economic integration until 2025. The leaders also considered priority areas of cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. Supporting the idea of adopting the strategy as a whole, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that some of its provisions require additional study: “Given the particular

*Corresponding author’s e-mail: klara.makasheva55@gmail.com

importance of this document, which lays down the main contours of integration for years to come, it seems appropriate to discuss it additionally and adopt it in the course of an in-person meeting”.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made a number of proposals aimed at strengthening mutual trade, supporting business and interaction in the areas of digitalization and transport logistics. In particular, he proposed developing a plan for phasing out all the restrictions and barriers that arose during the pandemic, intensifying work on launching the EAEU integrated information system and developing transport and logistics services [1].

Ever since the creation of the Customs Union, the creation of a common market has begun as a key area for integration in the field of trade. However, there are problems in this area, one of which, according to experts, was the almost complete duplication of the commodity structure of mutual trade of Kazakhstan with partners in the EAEU with the commodity structure of foreign trade as a whole [2].

In turn, Doctor of Economics Professor A. Migranyan, who is an expert in the field of trade and economic relations of the Russian Federation, believes that at the time of the creation of the Customs Union (CU) Kazakhstan mainly relied on using the potential of the promising market of Russia, as well as the transit potential for the implementation of ambitious programs for the modernization and industrialization of their economies — the raw materials, financial and technological capabilities of partner countries [3; 135].

I. Chernykh, Scientific Chief Researcher, stated: “At the same time, starting in 2018, significant diversification of commodity positions in exports to the EAEU countries has been recorded. An important achievement of Kazakhstani exports to the EAEU in 2019 was the increase in the share of products with a high degree of processing. Thus, despite the predominance of raw materials in Kazakhstan’s export to the EAEU countries, one can ascertain the growth of non-primary exports. This circumstance creates the necessary conditions for the development of the competitive potential of the real sector of the national economy”.

According to experts, the most problematic areas related to obstacles are technical regulation, customs regulation, and transport policy. It becomes logical and understandable that in order to form a common market for goods with common requirements and, accordingly, create conditions for the unhindered movement of goods, coordinated and focused work on the part of all EAEU members is necessary [2].

Without criticism, the digital trade agenda remains, the problems and challenges of which are faced by Eurasian participants both in the domestic market and when entering the markets of third countries. These problems relate to issues, which require harmonization of regulation, revision of administrative procedures or lowering barriers, as well to problems of a systemic nature related to the maturity and competitiveness of processes implemented in the EAEU space.

International forum “Digital Almaty”, which was held on January 31, 2020 [4], showed the need to implement a set of solutions aimed at creating digital assets, digital cross-border services, digital trade channels between the EAEU member states, as well as services, digitization and stimulation of export of goods and services, development of digital trade infrastructure and digital technology as part of an international association.

Literature review

Experts analyze various aspects of the EAEU’s activities since its inception, including the current stage of its development. It should be noted that based on the positions of numerous studies and conclusions of political scientists, politicians, historians, international economists, logisticians and ecologists, it is important to consider and prioritize the development of the EAEU integration activities in practice.

Numerous studies have been devoted to the development of foreign economic relations of the member countries of the Eurasian Union, among which are representatives of various partner states and organizations — the EEC Collegium on Domestic Markets, Informatization, Information and Communication Technologies, Trade, Departments of Trade and Financial Policies, Customs Law and Law Enforcement Practice, customs and tariff and non-tariff regulation, the functioning of domestic markets, technical regulation and accreditation of the EEC, etc.

The team of experts and project coordinators — K. Minasyan, V. Nikishina, A. Petrov, M. Zhivykh, V. Shinkarev, S. Georgievsky, I. Kabanov, E. Bocharova, L. Karlash,, Y. Pleshakova, D. Nekrasov, V. Kozayev, A. Nistyuk, N. Samoilova, N. Lyakhova, D. Popov, D. Yesayan, A. Khachatryan, A. Abarbekova, M. Mukanov, D. Zaitsev, P. Tkach — on the topic of the development of digital trade in Eurasian of the Union devoted a fundamental work entitled “Report on the Development of the Digital (Internet) Trade of the EAEU” regarding current trends, problem nodes and prospects for the functioning of the integration union — the EAEU. This Report is the result of many years of work by a team of authors representing various international structures and units specializing in the study of various aspects of the activities of the Eurasian Union.

The primary tasks at the present stage of the foreign policy and economic activity of the integration union are, as the Russian expert S.A. Dyatlov concludes, the problems of developing and implementing a policy coordinated with the Union countries in the development of the Internet economy, and the formation of general rules for digital trade. Regarding the priorities in the interstate activities of the EAEU participants, the Russian expert especially emphasized the importance of developing logistics platforms, which is associated with the digitization of the economic activities of the partner countries of the Eurasian Union [5; 5].

One of the representatives of the Kazakhstan organization (Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan) V. Dodonov expressed an expert opinion that the development of trade relations within the EAEU is certainly promising, especially considering the fact that many enterprises of these countries were previously united by production cooperation ties within the framework of a single economic complex. The Kazakhstani expert believes that, nevertheless, the interdependence of the tasks of developing trade relations and the system of logistic interactions is clear, and at the same time emphasizes that a number of industries and regions still have a mutually complementary structure of production, which forms a significant part of the turnover. Even without considering these relations, trade between neighboring states has obvious advantages due to the factors of logistics and transport accessibility, which make it more efficient [2].

According to another Russian expert E. Kinyakina, now in the EAEU member states the transport and logistics component in the final cost of goods reaches 30 %, and in the European Union — 10 %. Large logistics companies usually have their own information systems, while small and medium-sized enterprises rely mainly on external commercial logistics platforms. These systems are not interconnected, and the lack of coordination affects the cost of logistics operations upward. The formation of a single digital ecosystem is designed to solve this problem [6].

Without consideration of the importance of documents based on authoritative opinion and legal assessment, the analysis of literary sources would not be complete. The issues of the effectiveness of the development of the public procurement system directly affect the state of trade and economic relations within the EAEU member countries; therefore, the center of almost all research is precisely this area of interstate cooperation.

Thus, the President of Kazakhstan emphasized that bilateral cooperation between the countries of the Union is multifaceted and affects almost the entire spectrum of economic, social, humanitarian relations. In his speech, the President of Kazakhstan called the EAEU cooperation a priority and a key element of economic recovery, while he emphasized the importance of digitization and transport logistics.

President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, made a number of proposals aimed at strengthening mutual trade, supporting business, and interaction in the areas of digitization and transport logistics. In particular, he proposed developing a plan for phasing out all the restrictions and barriers that arose during the pandemic, intensifying work on launching the EAEU integrated information system and developing transport and logistics services.

The point of view of the Minister for Trade of the EEC, A. Slepnev, regarding the current situation in the EAEU is as follows: “The situation is far from rosy. The fall in foreign trade is accelerating. At the end of the year, trade with third countries decreased by 2.7 %, in I quarter of 2020, the decline was 8.8 %. Domestic trade also went negative, however, trade in non-primary non-energy goods, on the contrary, showed a positive trend (+ 2.8 %)” [7]. As the multilateral trading system is in crisis today, according to the Minister, more energetic work is required in the field of regional and bilateral agreements. Negotiations are underway with Egypt and Israel, are intensifying with India, new negotiations are being discussed with ASEAN countries. “But here, of course, the key is that we need to build a direct dialogue with business”, says Andrey Slepnev, “We are actively discussing anti-crisis measures and technical regulation, infrastructure connectivity, customs, and the environment. It seems to us that it’s very important right now to immediately take the course that we need to get out of this crisis together with our main trading partners — first of all, with China and Europe”.

As a result of numerous discussions and analysis of the EAEU foreign economic activity, the development of the digital trade infrastructure, and the promotion of the use of technologies that will enhance the competitiveness of Member States relative to global digital trade ecosystems are a priority. It is noted that the EAEU member states need to develop a digital trade infrastructure based on their own technological solutions [8].

Experimental

A regular meeting of the EAEU Intergovernmental Council was held in Almaty on January 31, 2020. One of the main topics of the Eurasian Union Intergovernmental Council in Almaty was the development of trade and digital integration of the participating countries [9]. In the EAEU core document — the Treaty on the Establishment of the EAEU (Article 103, paragraph 2), the following is noted: “Member states, after completing the harmonization of legislation in the field of financial markets, will decide on the powers and functions of the supranational body for regulating the financial market and establish it with its location in the city of Almaty in 2025”.

The idea of the readiness of the EAEU member states to ensure four fundamental freedoms in the EAEU space — freedom of movement of goods, services, capital, and labor — passes through the Agreement as a red thread. The same document reflects the obligations of the participating countries in sectoral areas of integration of industries, including:

  • single trade policy and policy in the field of technical regulation;
  • coordinated macroeconomic and monetary policies;
  • coordinated transport and energy policies;
  • coordinated policy in the agricultural sector;
  • cooperation in the field of industry;
  • an agreed policy in the field of consumer protection [2; 6].

The review of such regulatory documents to trace the decision-making process within the framework of building cooperation in the digital trade integration of the EAEU member countries was made:

  • Decision No. 12 “On the main directions of the implementation of the digital agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union until 2025” dated October 11, 2017, Sochi, the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council [10].
  • Order No. 6 “On creating conditions for the development of a digital ecosystem of trade in the Eurasian Economic Union” of April 30, 2019, Yerevan, Eurasian Intergovernmental Council [11].
  • Decision No. 4 “On the draft decision of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council” On the mechanisms for implementing projects within the digital agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union of January 18, 2019, Moscow, Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission http://docs.cntd.ru/document / 553853914 et al. [12].

The institutional and legislative basis for the implementation of the EAEU Digital Agenda was the adoption of the Document “Key Directions for the Implementation of the Digital Agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union until 2025”, which was approved by the Presidents of the EAEU at a meeting of the EAEU Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in October 2017 in Sochi. As the main task, the development and implementation of a policy agreed upon with the Union countries in the field of the development of the Internet economy, the formation of general rules of digital commerce, common standards for the exchange of information and ensuring its protection were identified.

The EAEU Digital Agenda is a comprehensive digital transformation program. It means increasing the competitiveness of the EAEU based on end-to-end digital technologies and digital platforms, which is a new cooperation, only in the digital dimension. A total of six initiatives have been approved: Digital trade, digital transport corridors, digital industrial cooperation, data turnover agreement, a system of regulatory “sandboxes”. The Eurasian Economic Commission has created the EAEU Digital Project Office, which will evaluate and promote the proposed EAEU integration projects in the field of the digital economy [5; 1–2].

The EAEU Report on the Development of Digital (Internet) Trade presents an analysis of measures to regulate interaction processes, which has become a qualitative basis for author analytics on measures to support participants in the digital trade ecosystem.

The authors of the article attempted a comparative analysis based on the development data of the international practice of digitalization of the economy using the information provided in Global Digital

Trade 1, which provides a brief overview of the indicators and parameters of the development of digital trade in the countries of the world [13].

The source for up-to-date information on the state of affairs in the development of integration in the EAEU space and the position of the participating countries was scientific and experimental articles and project materials specializing in this field of research, most of which were used from such digital portals as http:// www.eurasiancommission.org.

The research activities that analyze the development of digital trade within the EAEU are accompanied by the need to process and analyze information on digitalization, which is associated with a description of the content regarding the conceptual apparatus, which provides the following information with reference to the source (“The main directions of the implementation of the digital agenda...”, 2017) (Table 1).

Content for research on the conceptual framework of digital commerce*

No.

Specialized Terms

Digital Trade Terminology Content

1

a system of tools supporting the use of digital processes, resources and services by a significant number of subjects of the digital ecosystem and providing the possibility of seamless interaction

a system of tools supporting the use of digital processes, resources and services by a significant number of subjects of the digital ecosystem and providing the possibility of seamless interaction

2

an open, sustainable system, including the subjects of the digital ecosystem (physical, legal, virtual, etc.), as well as the communications and relations of these entities in digital form based on the services of a digital platform

an open, sustainable system, including the subjects of the digital ecosystem (physical, legal, virtual, etc.), as well as the communications and relations of these entities in digital form based on the services of a digital platform

3

covers the relations of economic entities arising from the sale of products produced through information networks

covers the relations of economic entities arising from the sale of products produced through information networks

4

delivery of products and services via wired or wireless digital networks

delivery of products and services via wired or wireless digital networks

5

any physical objects ordered through information networks, the delivery of which is carried out through channels other than information and communication networks. This category also includes computer programs, databases, digital content on tangible media

any physical objects ordered through information networks, the delivery of which is carried out through channels other than information and communication networks. This category also includes computer programs, databases, digital content on tangible media

6

services sold through channels other than information networks, as well as consulting services provided through any channels (including digital)

services sold through channels other than information networks, as well as consulting services provided through any channels (including digital)

7

a set of information materials that are distributed electronically through special channels for use on digital devices

a set of information materials that are distributed electronically through special channels for use on digital devices

8

a manifestation of qualitative, revolutionary changes, consisting not only in individual digital transformations, but also in a fundamental change in the structure of the economy ‘in a situation where’ there is a digital transformation of everyday life, the business environment and public administration

a manifestation of qualitative, revolutionary changes, consisting not only in individual digital transformations, but also in a fundamental change in the structure of the economy ‘in a situation where’ there is a digital transformation of everyday life, the business environment and public administration

9

a set of measures aimed at transforming business processes in accordance with their digital model

a set of measures aimed at transforming business processes in accordance with their digital model

10

a space integrating digital processes, means of digital interaction, information resources, as well as a set of digital infrastructures, based on regulatory standards, organization, management and use mechanisms

a space integrating digital processes, means of digital interaction, information resources, as well as a set of digital infrastructures, based on regulatory standards, organization, management and use mechanisms

* Note – Compiled based on (Collection of the EAEU DIGITAL AGENDA 2016–2019–2025, 2019)

Table 1

It should be noted that in the concept of digital (electronic) trade, we invest in the production, distribution, marketing, sale/delivery of goods and services through electronic channels. Trading on the digital field includes interaction through information and communication and social networks based on a wide range of business models. The term “digital trading” is interpreted more broadly than “online trading”, which means only selling through the Internet. Based on the analysis of numerous examples of electronic trading platforms, platforms, many components of the landscape of the digital trading ecosystem, broad functional groups related to digital goods and services can be distinguished, the idea of which is formed in different contexts and even at different stages of the development of trade relations [14].

The article used the methods of universal and special (industry) analysis — logical, comparative, marketing and statistical, as well as methods of scientific forecasting and assessment.

Results and Discussion

There are various parties (negative ones as well) regarding the creation and development of an integration union, including our country as a member of the EAEU. Over the past five years, Kazakhstan’s cooperation has proved the failure of concerns about the viability and effectiveness of the EAEU for participating countries. This is evidenced by the fact that, according to the estimates of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the EAEU functions as the second largest integration association in the world after the European Union.

Each country has its own advantages through integration. In modern conditions, for Kazakhstan, an important vector of economic development is the maintenance of stable economic relations with external partners, which in this context opens up the prospect of cooperation within the EAEU.

For Kazakhstan, it means export facilitation based on common customs standards, duty-free trade, integration into global transport hubs with access to other macroeconomic regions of the world. A profitable partnership is associated with wide opportunities and promising areas of growth in export potential, which ultimately affects the welfare of Kazakhstanis.

“Today, we can confidently say that the EAEU creates a positive synergy effect for the economies of the participating countries. The formation of supranational legislation, the removal of customs posts and the reduction of non-tariff barriers have become an important factor for the growth of mutual trade” the political scientist emphasized.

It would be appropriate to quote a foreign expert on the development of Eurasian integration, in particular the position of Russia in relation to other EAEU member countries. He emphasizes that the EAEU is the organization where no country has a decisive vote. If even one country opposes, then the decision will not work. Therefore, Russia will continue to build humanitarian and scientific cooperation on a bilateral basis with each ally separately [15].

The integration union of the participating states characterizes the responsibility that the leaders of the EAEU have assumed — this is a combination of interests and a willingness to regulate relations within the legal framework. In this context, there is a positive fact of integration of the partner countries united in the EAEU for the development of their own digital economies.

So, we must admit that the global agenda of digital integration processes (political, social and economic) will affect, among other things, all states united in the EAEU, which becomes an inevitable factor. The sooner the transnational cooperation in digital format is regulated and put on the legal basis, the easier it will be to still not fully developed and accumulated experience in digitalization to transfer and adapt it within the framework of the international association, which is the EAEU.

As for Kazakhstan’s readiness for digital integration, the answer here is only positive. According to the expert, in terms of quality and pace of development of the digital economy, Kazakhstan, along with Russia, occupies a leading position in the entire CIS. “We are not only ready to join the processes of digital integration in the EAEU, but we ourselves are also generators of ideas and developers of initiatives. So, the list of Kazakhstani initiatives includes the introduction of digital technologies for the development of the agro-industrial complex and the creation of an electronic labor exchange. Kazakhstan presented the mechanism of electronic licensing, which allows not only to automate the processes of licensing, issuing permits, but also to ensure transparency of the mechanism of information interaction between government bodies and the business community. Another initiative of Kazakhstan was the launch of an “Open digital platform for small and medium-sized businesses” I. Chernykh explained [2].

In accordance with the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Digital Agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union until 2025 [16], digital trade is one of the priorities for the development and implementation of digital initiatives and projects of the Eurasian Economic Union. Following the results of the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, held on July 27, 2018, the Commission, together with the Member States, was entrusted with working out and submitting for consideration at the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council proposals for the development of Internet commerce in the EAEU. The Commission organized an expert platform on digital commerce.

With the demand of time and market needs, digital images and doubles of goods appear with a set of characteristics characterizing it. Goods are increasingly sold with a mandatory set of services, which are the main object of trade. We can say that we are moving from the consumption of goods and services to the acquisition of those technologies that determine the value of services that ensure the use of goods.

In addition, radical changes are taking place in the value chain: The transformation of the internal processes of the participants in the supply and supply chain platforms reduces the number of intermediaries between the end consumer and the manufacturer, which means it compresses the value creation process. The development of digital trade channels between Member States and the services providing digital trade within the EAEU, based on digital platforms, is another necessary measure to stimulate digital trade in the EAEU. New trading models mean shrinking the value chain in the field of trade, reducing the number of intermediary links between the consumer and the manufacturer, transforming the internal processes of all participants in the supply chain and trading floors. It is also necessary to stimulate the export of goods and services from member states to third countries [17; 52–53].

At the moment, in shaping the rules of the game that determine the relationship between producer and consumer, global ecosystems are beginning to play a key role.

The digital trading ecosystem comprises the needs of consumers, the capabilities of manufacturers, and many other participants based on the processes of related services collected on digital platforms. Related services include logistics and financial platforms, marketing companies, insurance companies, big data operators and cloud services.

The ecosystem will integrate all types of transportation, but it will be the most useful for road transport. According to the EEC, road transport provides 82 % of traffic in the EAEU (without pipeline transport). Digital corridors will allow starting from 2022 to increase the useful annual mileage in terms of a vehicle by 23 % by reducing non-production downtime; The annual revenue of logistics companies should increase proportionally.

Digital trade corridors will contribute to the development of trade within the EAEU, which at the same time can make the territory of the EAEU a more competitive route for the transit of goods between China and the EU. This could potentially solve one of the problems — the relative isolation of the domestic market for international trade.

It should be noted that elements of the digital trade ecosystem in Member States are at different stages of maturity, which is the root cause of the lack of active progress in involving market players in the digital trading agenda. Joint actions of the participating countries should ensure the process integration of global players. Only by accepting the fact that each of the participating countries should increase the maturity of market players and show willingness to develop and adopt harmonizing measures and processes, we can achieve the expected effect of digital trading in the following interrelated directions:

  • increase in mutual trade through digital trade channels;
  • increase the export of products and services of national producers to target markets;
  • increase in the share of created added value in the space of the Union;
  • growth of digital assets (Figure 1).

The prime ministers of all five countries participating in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia) signed an agreement on a unified ecosystem of digital transport corridors. By that we mean new digital customs, logistics, insurance and financial services, and about the completion and integration of existing ones into the common ecosystem. Total project costs — 10 billion rubles.

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC, the EAEU body responsible for deepening integration, etc.) estimates the economic effect of the future ecosystem at 50–150 billion rubles. By 2025, the ecosystem will have a side effect — an analysis of the data flows coming from it will allow building a transport and economic balance, identifying bottlenecks, predicting traffic flows, and so on [6].

Figure 1. Expected Digital Trade Effect *

* Note – Compiled based on (Digital (Internet) Commerce Development Report, 2019: 5)

Problems of digital trade development. In consultations with representatives of business, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and state authorities of the EAEU Member States, problems and challenges that Eurasian digital trade participants face in the domestic market and when entering third-country markets were identified. These problems are manifested both of a point-like nature, requiring harmonization of regulation, reduction of barriers or simplification of administrative procedures, as well as systemic issues related to the global competitiveness of systems and processes implemented in the EAEU, with the risk of increased overflow of value added in the process of trade in third countries. Let us get acquainted with some of them:

  1. The complexity of the development of digital commerce is aggravated by an insufficient level of digitization of products — many manufacturers are not ready for the material costs that are required to ensure the process and the acquisition of competence for the description of goods and services and their immersion in the digital environment. In addition, the vast majority of manufacturers do not feel the need and do not know how to describe their goods — they know that their customers are used to buying from trusted suppliers [18].
  2. The list of other reasons for such a slow pace of development of digital commerce in the EAEU space can also include the lack of technical regulation, the lack of control over the safety of goods during cross-border trade, the lack of harmonized approaches to the classification of digital services and their taxation, the lack of harmonization of regulation of the distribution of personal data, and the lack of statistics. A digital trade accounting methodology is still being developed, while quality statistics are the basis for regulatory decisions.
  3. If we touch on the issue of entering global markets through digital channels of trade, then we will encounter such shortcomings as:
  4. insufficient mechanisms to support access to global digital markets;
  5. delay in the process of transition of the business of the EAEU countries to new business models that could provide contact with foreign buyers;
  6. lack of a stable reputation and positive perception of goods from the EAEU in the global market;
  7. the lack of effective mechanisms for protecting national producers in the foreign market;
  8. burdensome administrative formalities, lack of electronic document management (confirmation of a zero VAT rate, bureaucracy);
  9. a ban on the shipment of certain goods during export (in international mail);
  10. gaps in the system of registries and ontologies, in the classification system for inclusion in the processes of the global digital market;
  11. Poor integration into the multilingual digital space (Report on the development of the digital (Internet) trade of the EAEU (draft), 2019).
  12. The next problem is the practice of restrictions on the types of goods passing through the digital channels of the Union. For example, there are a number of groups of goods that are prohibited, restricted or do not have a legal status for digital sales. A direct ban applies to alcohol products, tobacco products, and drugs remotely within individual EAEU member states, there are restrictions on the transportation of certain groups of goods, for example, there are special requirements for the protection of jewelry during transportation.
  13. On the territory of the Union, the level of development of logistics systems varies depending on the region — there is no system of hubs conducive to the development of digital services, the infrastructure of logistics centers is poorly developed, the price of deliveries to dead ends is not worked out, there is a shortage of distribution warehouses in hard-to-reach areas and geographically remote locations. Many logistics processes still use paperwork, and this applies to both air transportation and cargo transportation.
  14. The pool of problems is replenished by the insufficient maturity of digital critical infrastructure — regional digital trading floors do not use technologies enough due to a lack of understanding of market trends and the high cost of technological investments. The largest share of the sites is limited to a showcase with primitive functionality, since it cannot afford high-quality tools for processing and analyzing data, not to mention the cloud infrastructure. Four US companies: Microsoft, Google, IBM and Amazon are global cloud service providers. The largest investments in cloud services are directed from the USA, EU and China [13].
  15. Lack of a qualitative analysis of the market, experienced by electronic sites operating on the EAEU market. The low level of maturity of Eurasian players in the data and analytical information markets has led to the fact that it is cheaper to buy analytics abroad than in the Eurasian space. The dishonesty of some players, that have accumulated a critical mass of data and violated competitive conditions, has negative effects. In a global context, there is debate about whether competition exists in big data ownership. Analysis of targeted marketing strategies helps to create attractive recommendations for customers [14].

Conclusions

In conclusion, we consider it necessary to briefly outline the main provisions in the presented study, which allowed us to formulate the following conclusions:

  1. Without considering the state importance of documents based on authoritative opinion and legal assessment, the analysis of literary sources would not be complete. The issues of the effectiveness of the development of the public procurement system directly affect the state of trade and economic relations within the EAEU member countries, therefore, the center of almost all research is precisely this area of interstate cooperation.
  2. Experts analyze various aspects of the EAEU’s activities from the moment of its foundation and including the current stage of its development. It should be noted that based on the positions of numerous studies and conclusions of political scientists, politicians, historians, international economists, logisticians and ecologists, it is important to consider and prioritize the development of the EAEU integration activities in practice.
  3. The article analyzes the key problems of digitalization in the context of modern challenges, dictating the need for the development of ecosystems of the digital market, including logistic interactions as an infrastructural factor in the development of digital trade, and also shows directions for solving problems with a view to the effectiveness of the Eurasian Union and Kazakhstan’s foreign policy in it
  4. At the moment, in shaping the rules of the game that determine the relationship between producer and consumer, global ecosystems play a key role. The components of the digital trade ecosystem in the EAEU member states are at different stages of maturity, which is the root cause of the lack of active progress in involving market players in the digital trade agenda. Joint actions of the participating countries should ensure the process integration of global players. Achieving the expected effect of digital trade is possible only if the maturity of market players is increased and there is a willingness to develop and make effective decisions for each of the EAEU member countries.
  5. The authors note that in 2019, an important achievement of Kazakhstani exports to the EAEU was the increase in the share of products with a high degree of processing. Despite the predominance of raw materials in Kazakhstan’s export to the EAEU countries, one can ascertain the growth of non-primary exports. This circumstance creates the necessary conditions for the development of the competitive potential of the real sector of the national economy.

As for Kazakhstan’s readiness for digital integration, it is positive. It should be noted that in terms of quality and pace of development of the digital economy, Kazakhstan, along with Russia, occupies a leading position in the entire CIS.

  1. The Eurasian Union should build its own infrastructure for digital commerce and integration with ecosystems through a long-term development strategy. Along with this, it is necessary to focus on achieving the strategic goals of building, on the international legal basis, digital trade and economic interaction with the European and Asian-Pacific regions.

All of the above measures, by increasing the maturity of their own digital ecosystem, will enable the EAEU member states to increase mutual trade in the digital format, and thereby increase the effectiveness of international cooperation with access to world markets.

 

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Разделы знаний

International relations

International relations

Law

Philology

Philology is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection between textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics.[

Technical science

Technical science