The state will regulate prices for monopolists' products and socially significant goods

January 4, Minsk / Liliya Krapivina - BELTA/. The state will regulate prices for products of monopolists and social goods. This was stated today to journalists by Deputy Minister of Economy Andrey Tur, commenting on Directive No. 4 "On the Development of Entrepreneurial Initiative and Stimulation of Business Activity in the Republic of Belarus," according to a BELTA correspondent. "The development of competition should be everywhere it is possible, and state regulation - where it is necessary," Andrey Tur emphasized. Directive No. 4 provides for state price regulation only for products of monopolist organizations and for socially significant goods. Such an antitrust policy will contribute to the development of a competitive environment. At the same time, the manufacturer, importer, and seller will bear full responsibility for the quality of goods and services. Thus, not only the state and government bodies are responsible for the quality of goods, but the business environment is also included in this responsibility, the deputy minister noted. Price regulation in this case does not mean the possibility of their growth, Andrey Tur emphasized. According to him, Directive No. 4 cannot be considered in parts. "It is aimed as a whole at developing competitive, conscientious, full responsibility of the manufacturer, importer, and seller. And when such responsibility exists, prices, even when they are freed, will not rise in such conditions, because they are limited by the conditions of fair competition," Andrey Tur said. To ensure unambiguous legal regulation and stable legislation on entrepreneurial activity, mandatory public discussion of draft regulatory legal acts is envisaged. Such work can influence the implementation of entrepreneurial activity at a new level, Andrey Tur believes. That is, entrepreneurs as economic entities, their associations, together with state administration bodies, including in the regions, will participate in the discussion of new regulatory legal acts concerning the development of small and medium-sized businesses. This work will be carried out at the level of public advisory, expert, and other councils. Analyzing the work done to prepare Directive No. 4, Andrey Tur noted that "this is a political document that defines a political goal and movement towards it." The principles that are laid down for the development of entrepreneurial initiative and business activity are important in it. "The document turned out to be large, capacious, and comprehensive. In the near future, the Ministry of Economy will begin to prepare a draft action plan for the implementation of Directive No. 4," the deputy minister added. -0-