Azernews.Az

Uzbek President Islam Karimov signed a law "On ratification of the Protocol on the application of the Agreement on Free Trade Zone, dated Oct. 18, 2011 between its parties and the Republic of Uzbekistan."

The protocol was signed in May 2013 at the meeting of the Council of CIS heads of governments in Minsk. The document defines the legal frameworks of relations between Uzbekistan and the agreement participants.

The protocol has been worked out for greater involvement of Uzbekistan in cooperation within the CIS, as well as the unification of trade regimes of member states of the Customs Union with Uzbekistan. The Protocol envisages exemption from import duties in the process of implementation of trade operations between the countries of the Customs Union and Uzbekistan. Provisions of the treaty apply in relations between the contracting parties and Uzbekistan by taking into account a number of conditions.

In particular, for the period until the end of 2020 or until Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization, depending on whichever is the earlier, Uzbekistan and the contracting parties shall be exempt from the obligation to provide national regime in mutual trade in accordance with Article III of the General agreement on Tariffs and Trade. It is also planned to maintain the order of settlement of disputes through bilateral negotiations.

The law on ratification of the protocol was adopted by the Legislative (lower) chamber of Uzbek parliament in late November and was approved by the Senate in December 2013.

Uzbekistan became the ninth member of the CIS Agreement on Free Trade Zone. The document is in force in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. Another two countries- Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan haven't ratified it yet.