AnalysisThe 2000s saw a trade boom for Kazakhstan, fueled primarily by rising commodity prices and aggressive borrowing. This boom stopped in 2007, a year before the financial crisis hit the market. Consecutively, 2009 saw a contraction in imports of 25% (in nominal terms). Imports from the future UAE were the hardest hit (decrease of over 34%), compared to the EU which saw a contraction of 9%. Imports grew by 9% in 2010; most of this growth came from within the UAE. This can be attributed to the trade diversion and contraction in 2009. EU imports continued to decline. Interestingly, imports from CIS countries have decreased, partly because many of the CIS exports overlap with Russian and Belarusian products. (Plekhanov, Alexander)Corruption:Extortion and evasion:Extortion is a type of corruption in which an official obtains money, property, or services through coercion. While the service provided in exchange for a bribe is usually a “favor,” in extortion the “service” is euphemistically called “protection,” where the extortionist does not harm the second party after receiving the bribe. In a real-life hypothetical situation, the extortion from import tariffs is as follows: 1. The exporter decides the quantity and value of the goods he wishes to import into another country 2. Once reaching the country, the imported goods must clear customs 3 Customs officials practice extortion and demand a bribe to allow goods to be cleared through customs. (Dutt, Pushan) Evasion, on the other hand, (usually associated with tax evasion, a.k.a. "tax evasion") includes dishonest tax reporting, and the bribe provides the service of downgrading a person's property or income individual so that the direct tax paid on it decreases proportionally. . The effect of tax evasion is... middle of paper... An increase in tax rates on multinational companies operating in the country and an increase in corruption will lead to a decrease in foreign direct investment. (Wei, Shang-Jin). Furthermore, deeper economic integration may increase exposure to macroeconomic vulnerabilities of other member states. The effects of global and regional trade shocks, such as the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, would be felt more and would spread across the Union more rapidly. Finally, the Asian Development Bank estimates that customs clearance times for trucks entering Kazakhstan from outside the UAE have increased by 47% since the introduction of the CET. (Isakova, Asel) Changes in imports: Imports from Russia and Belarus have increased, although relatively little. Imports from China suffered the most from higher tariffs, while the change in CIS, EU and global imports was insignificant. (Plekhanov, Alexander)