WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/REG123/1
8 March 2001
(01-1147)
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:  English
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN GEORGIA AND KAZAKSTAN
The following texts reproduce the Agreement on Free Trade between Georgia and Kazakstan
and the Protocol attached to it.
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AGREEMENT ON FREE TRADE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA
AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKSTAN
The Government of Georgia and the Government of the Republic of Kazakstan, hereinafter
referred to as the "Sides" to the agreement,
Confirming  their tendency towards free development of economic cooperation;
Taking into account  integral economic relations between Georgia and Kazakstan;
Acknowledging that free movement of commodity and service requires implementation of
mutually agreed measures;
Confirming  the support of Georgia and Kazakstan to the principles of the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO),
Agreed  on the following:
Article 1
Guided by the principles of equality, mutual advantage and interests, Sides will develop and
enhance trade and economic relations between the subjects of economic activity independently from
their property forms, taking into account legislative acts operating in the States of the Sides on the
basis of the direct economic links.
Each Side refrains from actions that can cause the damage to another Side.
Article 2
1. Sides do not impose customs duties, taxes and charges, having equivalent effect, with the
exception of charges concerning the customs processes, as well as quantitative restrictions towards
export and/or import of commodity originated from the customs area of one of the Sides and
designated for the customs area of another Side.  According to the agreed commodity nomenclature,
exclusions from such trade regime are annually drawn up through protocol.WT/REG123/1
Page 2
2. In accordance with the paragraph 1 of this Article Sides annually elaborate and coordinate the
general list of exclusions from free trade regime and the methods of application of such exclusions as
well.
3. For objectives and during the operating period of the present agreement, commodity
originated from the customs areas of the Sides is determined by regulations determining the originator
country of the commodity, in accordance with international standards.
Article 3
Each Side will not impose local taxes or charges directly or indirectly on goods, covered by
the present agreement, at the rate that exceeds the level of relevant taxes or charges imposed on
analogous goods of the local production or those produced in third countries;
Each Side will not use different rules towards warehousing, unloading, storage, shipment of
goods originated from another country to the agreement as well as towards repayments and
remittances, with the exception of the rules that in similar cases are used towards domestic goods orthose originated from third country.
Article 4
Sides will refrain from carrying out discriminative measures in reciprocal trade as well as
from applying quantitative restrictions or their equivalent measures on export and/or import of goods
within the framework of the present agreement.
Sides may unilaterally ascertain quantitative or other special restrictions but only within
reason and in strictly determined terms.
Such restrictions must be of exclusive character and may be applied only in cases envisaged
by the agreements concluded within the framework of GATT and WTO.
The Side, which will apply quantitative restrictions in accordance with this Article, will
provide another Side with full information about reasons for establishment, forms and possible terms
of application of these restrictions;  hence consultations are appointed.
Quantitative restrictions noted in paragraph 1 of this Article may be ascertained through
mutual agreement between the Sides and may be annually drawn up through protocol.
Article 5
Sides will not permit unauthorized re-export of goods, in regard to the export of which their
originator Side applies tariff and non-tariff regulation measures.
Sides will exchange the lists of goods to which tariff and non-tariff regulations are used.  The
re-export of such goods to third countries may be implemented only through the letter of consent and
in terms defined by the authorized body of the producer country.  In case of nonobservance of this
provision, the Side, whose interests were violated, has the right to introduce unilaterally the measures
on regulation of exportation of the commodity at the territory of the Side, which has committed
unauthorized re-export.  In case of unauthorized re-export, the originator Side of the commodity mayrequire compensation for damage and may apply sanctions.
Under the re-export, noted in this Article, is considered the export of commodity originated
from the customs area of one of the Sides, by another one out of its customs area with the purpose of
commodity's exportation to the third country.WT/REG123/1
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Article 6
All repayments and remittances in trade and economic cooperation between the Sides must be
implemented in accordance with the agreement between the authorized banks of the Sides.
Article 7
Sides will exchange, on regular basis, information about laws and other regulatory acts,
concerning economic activity, including trade, investment, taxation, banking and insurance activity as
well as other financial services, transport and customs issues, including customs statistics.
Sides will immediately inform each other about changes taking place in the national
legislation that may affect on the implementation of the present agreement.
Authorized bodies to the Sides coordinate regulation of such exchange of information.Provisions of this Article will not be defined as the obligation of competent bodies to any
Side to submit the information, which may not be accepted by legislation or during the usual
administrative practice of one of the Sides.
Provisions of this Article will not be the ground for submitting the information, which may
disclose any trade, manufacturing, industrial, commercial or professional secrecy or other informationdisclosure that resist the governmental interests of the Sides.
Article 8
Sides consider that unfair business practice is incompatible with agreement's objectives and
undertake not to permit, in particular, but not exceptionally, the following methods:
- Agreements between enterprises, decisions of their associations and common
methods of business practice that aim to prevent or restrict competition or violate its
conditions at the territories of the Sides;
- Actions, through which one or several companies using their dominant condition,
restrict competition on the whole areas of the Sides or on the substantial part of the
Side's territory.
Article 9
During implementation of tariff and non-tariff regulation of bilateral economic relations, for
the exchange of statistics and for implementation of customs procedures Sides will apply common
nine-digital commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity based on the harmonized system
of description and coding of goods and on the combined tariff and statistic nomenclature of European
Economic Community.  Herewith, for their governmental needs, the Sides implement, in case ofnecessity, enhancement of commodity nomenclature beyond the bounds of nine-digits.
Establishment of standard pattern of commodity nomenclature is implemented on the basis of
mutual agreements through representatives in relevant international organizations.
Article 10
Sides are agreed that the maintenance of the principle of free transit is the most significant
term for achieving objectives of the present agreement, and the essential element of the process of
their linking up in the system of cooperation and international division of labour.WT/REG123/1
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In this regard, each Side insures free transit, through its territory, of the commodity,
originated from the customs area of another Side and/or of third country and designated for another
Side and/or for any other third country.  Each Si de will provide exporters, importers or conveyors
with all necessary facilities and services for trans it security, in terms not worse than the ones with
facilities and services that are given to own exporters, importers and conveyors or those of any other
third country.
Rules and conditions for transition of goods through territories of the Sides are regulated in
accordance with the international rules on transportation.
Article 11
This agreement does not prevent the right of any Side to implement the measures adopted in
international practice that are considered necessary for protection of the Side's fundamental interests
and that are unconditionally essential for fulfilment of international agreements, participants of which
this Side is or intends to be, if such measures concern the following:
- Interests of national defense;- Trade in weapon, ammunition and military equipment;
- Investigations and production concerning defensive needs;
- Supply with materials and equipment applied in nuclear industry;- Protection of public moral and public order;- Protection of industrial and intellectual property;- Gold, silver or other precious stones and metals;- Protection of human health and environment.
Article 12
In order to implement agreed policy on export control towards third countries, Sides will hold
regular consultations and take mutually agreed measures for establishing an effective export control
system.
Article 13
Provisions of this agreement replace the provisions of bilateral agreements concluded earlier
between the Sides, where these provisions are identical or incompatible.
Article 14
Disputes between Sides, concerning interpretation and application of the agreement's
provisions, will be settled through negotiations.
Sides will endeavour to avoid conflicts in reciprocal trade.Each Side insures the existence of measures on its territory for recognition and
implementation of arbitraments.WT/REG123/1
Page 5
Article 15
In case of necessity, amendments and annexes may be entered into agreement according to
the Sides' consent.
Article 16
The present agreement comes into effect from the date of exchanging the notifications on
implementation of intergovernmental procedures th at are necessary for the agreement's coming into
force and will be in force within six months since the date, when one of the Sides sends the written
notification on agreement's termination to another one.
Provisions of the present agreement will be applied within five years, after its termination,
towards contracts of enterprises and organization s of both countries that were concluded but not
fulfilled during the operating period of the agreement.
DONE in Almatish, on 11 November 1997 in two originals, each in Georgian, Kazakh and
Russian languages.  All texts are equally authentic.
Text in Russian language is used during interpretation of agreement's provisions.WT/REG123/1
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Protocol on Exclusion from Free Trade Regime
Annexed to the Agreement (11 November 1997) on Free Trade
between the Government of Georgia and the Government of the Republic of Kazakstan
Authorized representatives of Georgia and the Republic of Kazakstan drew up the protocol on
the following:
Article 1
Exclusions, provided in the Article 2 of the Agreement on Free Trade concluded between the
Government of Georgia and the Government of Kazakstan (11 November 1997), cover the
commodity exported from Georgia to the Republic of Kazakstan in accordance with the Annex 1.
Article 2
1. In regard to the commodity covered by the exclusions from free trade regime in accordance
with the Article 1 of this protocol, the Sides render each other with the MFN, which includes:
- Payments and charges taken out during export (towards the commodity listed in the
Annex 1), including the methods for taking out such payments and charges;
- Condition of customs procedures, transportation, unloading, storage and other similar
services;
- Methods of payment and remittance;- Issuance of import licenses;- Rules concerning the sale, purchase, transportation, distribution and the use of
commodity at the domestic market.
2. Regulations of paragraph 1 of this Article do not apply to:
- Privileges rendered to third countries by any Side with the aim of establishing
customs union or free-trade area, or rendered as the result of establishment of such
union or area;
- Privileges that will be rendered to developing countries in accordance with the
legislation of the Sides;
- Privileges that will be rendered to neighbour countries with the aim of facilitation of
frontier trade;
- Privileges rendered by the Sides to each other in accordance with the special
agreements.
Article 3
In accordance with their legislation, Sides maintain, in reciprocal trade, application of
non-tariff regulation measures on export and import licensing and quotation of commodity.  These
measures are operating during the customs procedures as well as during exportation and importation
of commodity on or within the customs areas of the countries.WT/REG123/1
Page 7
Article 4
1. This protocol is an integral part of the Agreement on Free Trade concluded between the
government of Georgia and the government of the Republic of Kazakstan (11 November 1997) and
comes into effect simultaneously with this Agreement.
2. This protocol remains in force until the drawing up of the new protocol provided by Article 1
of the Agreement on Free Trade concluded between the government of Georgia and the government
of the Republic of Kazakstan on 11 November 1997.
DONE in Almatish, on 11 November 1997, in two originals, each in Georgian, Kazakh and
Russian languages.WT/REG123/1
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Annex 1 to the Protocol on  Exclusion from Free Trade
Attachment to the Agreement on Free Trade (November 1997)
between the Government of Georgia and the Government of the Republic of Kazakstan
List of the commodity, covered by the exclusion from a free trade regime during exportation
from Georgia to Kazakstan.
Title of the Commodity Code TH B ЭД
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage Group 22
(except 2201, 2202, 2204, 2208, 2209)
Tobacco and industrial substitutes for tobacco Group 24
Sugar 1701 99 100
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