Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will take protective measures if Ukraine liberalizes customs regulations with the European Union (EU), as reported by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
It is possible that cheaper European goods will come to the Customs Union from Ukraine amid these conditions, Putin said.
"Our experts think that such a threat exists. If our neighbors go for considerable liberalization of customs regulations with the EU, then goods, not bad in terms of quality and price, will inevitably flow to the Ukrainian market but this will lead to them forcing out Ukrainian goods from the Ukrainian market itself," the Russian president stated.
"Then member-states of the Customs Union will have to think about protective measures. Such a possibility exists," Putin said.
"The fact that it will be difficult to understand labels, the source country of goods is also a problem," the president said. "And this can put our producers in quite a difficult position," he added.
