The Agreement was signed in Minsk on May 19, 2011. It was drafted in line with agreements reached at the March 15, 2011 Minsk session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council (the supreme body of the Customs Union) at the heads-of-state level on issues of World Trade Organisation accession by the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.
The Agreement is intended to ensure the full-fledged functioning of the Customs Union in case one or more of its members joins the WTO, and lays legal grounds for Customs Union member-states to meet their obligations to the WTO if some trade regulation functions are assigned to the supranational level.
Under the Agreement, WTO regulations concerning areas within competence of the Customs Union become part of the Customs Union’s legal system.
Besides, the Agreement establishes the priority of a party’s WTO obligations over of its Customs Union obligations.