RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/REG76/3
20 September 2000
(00-3740)
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:  English
FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN
THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC AND MOLDOVA
Communication from the Kyrgyz Republic
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENT
1. Membership and Dates of Signature, Ratification and Entry into Force
The Parties to the Agreement are the Government of the Republic of Moldova on one side
and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on the other.
The Agreement was signed on 26 May 1995.Afterwards, on 31 May 1996, the Kyrgyz Republic notified the Government of Moldova that
no internal procedures were required by the Kyrgyz Republic for the Agreement to become effective.The Agreement became effective on 21 November 1996, when a note on the completion of internal
procedures was received by the Kyrgyz Re public from the Government of Moldova.
2. Type of Agreement
The Agreement creates a free-trade area.  It provides for the elimination of customs duties,
taxes and charges which have an equivalent effect, and quantitative restrictions on substantially all thetrade between the Parties.
3. Scope
Although the bilateral Free Trade Agreement of the Kyrgyz Republic with Moldova provides
for exceptions to be set under a separate protocol, such a protocol has not yet been signed.  Thus,
currently there are no exceptions to the free trade regime in trade with these countries.
Furthermore, according to the Protocol, of 2 April 1999, on Amendments and Supplements to
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Agreement on the Creation of a Free-Trade Area
(FTA), the Parties to the CIS Agreement have ag reed not to introduce new quantitative and tariff
restrictions on imports and/or exports in trade between them.  Therefore, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova as
the Parties to the CIS FTA Agreement will maintain a free-trade area with no exceptions.
4. Trade Data
Data on intra-trade is represented in the Annex.WT/REG76/3
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II. TRADE  PROVISIONS
1. Import Restrictions
Currently, the Kyrgyz Republic applies no customs duties or tariff quotas and charges having
an equivalent effect to customs and fiscal duties to imports from the territory of Moldova.  Neitherthere are quantitative restrictions on imports from the territory of Moldova applied by the
Kyrgyz Republic.  According to the changes to the CIS FTA Agreement introduced by the Protocol of
2 April 1999, no restrictions will remain in effect after this Protocol is fully implemented.
2. Export Restrictions
Currently, the Kyrgyz Republic applies no customs duties or tariff quotas and charges having
an equivalent effect to customs and fiscal duties to exports to the territory of Moldova.  Neither there
are quantitative restrictions on exports to the territory of Moldova applied by the Kyrgyz Republic.
According to the changes to the CIS FTA Agreement introduced by the Protocol of 2 April 1999, no
restrictions will remain in effect after this Protocol is fully implemented.
3. Rules of Origin
The country of origin of a product shall be a state in which the product was wholly produced
or substantially transformed.  The substantial transformation criterion can be determined by change in
tariff classification at the level of one of the first four digits or by ad valorem  percentages.  The
Agreement does not contain provisions on any type of cumulation of origin.
The Agreement does not contain extensive provisio ns related to determining rules of origin.
It referred to a separate agreement to be develope d for the detailed provisions regarding the rules of
origin.  Under the CIS Free-Trade Area Agreement, of 15 April 1994, the country of origin of goodsin trade between the Parties to the Agreement is  determined in accordance with the CIS Rules of
Determining a Country of Origin of Goods (hereinafter referred to as the Rules).
1  The CIS countries
signed the Rules on 24 September 1993.  The country of origin of a product is considered a CIS
country in which the product was wholly produced or subject to substantial transformation.  The
Rules provide for a list of goods, which are considered wholly produced.  Substantial transformation
may be manifested through (i) an ad valorem  portion, (ii) a list of production or technological
processes and (iii) changes of tariff headings.  The list of production or technological processes is stillbeing negotiated among the Parties to the Agreement.  In cases where there are no criteria specified
with respect to a particular product, the general criterion of changes in tariff heading is applied.  A
product is considered substantially transformed if its tariff classification has changed at any of the first
four digits with a list of exceptions.  Such exceptions are being developed and may contain a list of
production or technological operations which, though cause a change in tariff line, are not considereda sign of substantial transformation, or are considered such only if certain conditions are followed.  It
may also contain a list of production or technological operations, which though do not cause a change
in tariff line, are considered a sign of substantial transformation, provided that certain conditions are
followed.
The Rules provide for a possibility of using a cumulative principle of origin while applying
the criterion of substantial transformation.  The cumulative principle can be used with respect to the
CIS countries.  However, the Rules do not contain detailed provisions regarding cumulation.
                                                     
1 The text of the Rules was circulated in document WT/REG82/1.WT/REG76/3
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Standards
The Parties to the Agreement may unilaterally introduce measures generally accepted in
international practice and necessary to protect life and health of human and environment, and to
protect animal and plant life.  The Agreement does not provide for common standards or mutualrecognition of certificates.  However, in accor dance with the Agreement on the Uniform Policy on
Standardization, Metrology and Certification, which was executed by the CIS countries, the Parties to
the Agreement mutually accept certificates issued by accredited institutions of the Parties.
5. Safeguards
The Parties to the Agreement may unilaterally introduce quantitative restrictions on trade in
products covered by the Agreement as a safeguard measure only in cases of a critical deficit of the
balance-of-payment and acute deficit of a product in the domestic market.
A Party to the Agreement which applies a restriction shall provide, if possible in advance, the
other Party with full information on reasons for introductions, forms and estimated terms of applyingthe measure following which consultations are to be held.
There is no specific safeguard provision related to agriculture.
6. Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures
The Agreement does not contain any specific provisions concerning anti-dumping and
countervailing measures.  Nevertheless, the Parties have acknowledged the incompatibility of unfair
business practices with the objectives of the Agreement (Article 8).
7. Subsidies and State-Aid
The Agreement does not contain any specific provisions relating to subsidies and state-aid.
III. GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
1. Exceptions and Reservations
1.1 General exceptions
The Agreement does not preclude the Parties from using measures generally accepted in
international practice and necessary to fulfill inte rnational agreements, if they are related to the
following:
- protection of life and health of people, animals and plants;- protection of public moral and order;- trade in gold, silver or other precious metals and stones;- protection of industrial and intellectual property;WT/REG76/3
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1.2 Security exceptions
The Agreement does not preclude the Parties from using measures generally accepted in
international practice and necessary to fulfill inte rnational agreements and to protect its security
interests, if they are related to the following:
- information concerning the national security interests;- trade in arms, ammunition and military equipment;- research or production related to the needs of defense;
- supplies of materials and equipment used in the nuclear industry.
2. Accession
Any country may join the Agreement if the Parties agreed on it.  The Agreement does not
provide for the terms and conditions of joining, which are to be agreed between the Parties to the
Agreement and an acceding country.
3. Dispute Settlement Procedures
Disputes between the Parties shall be settled through negotiations.
4. Relation with Other Trade Agreements
The Agreement does not establish any specific relation with other bilateral, plurilateral and/or
multilateral trade agreements.
5. Institutional Framework
The Parties to the Agreement have agreed to form a Joint Moldavian-Kyrgyz Commission for
the implementation of the Agreement and development of recommendations to improve the trade and
economic relations between the Parties to the Agreement.
IV. OTHER
Other provisions of the Agreement refer to the following:
- Storage, reloading, warehousing, transportation, payments and transfer of payments:
no measures discriminating the products of other Party are applied;
- Customs tariffs:  the Parties have agr eed to hold regular consultations for the
purposes of rapprochement of the levels of customs duties in trade with third
countries;
- Obligation not to allow unfair business practices, including but not limited to certain
practices of use by certain enterprises of their dominant position intending to limitcompetition on the territories of the Parties to the Agreement;
- Re-exportation:  each Party to the Agreement undertakes not to re-export goods,
originating from the territory of the other Party to third countries unless it getsWT/REG76/3
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permission from the latter.  This provision applies with respect to the goods to which
the Party, where these goods originate from, applies measures of regulation of foreign
economic activity or grants privileges upon exportation from its territory;
- Freedom of transit;- The Parties have agreed to use the CIS Goods Nomenclature of Foreign Economic
Activity based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System and the Combined
Tariff-Statistical Nomenclature of the European Union.WT/REG76/3
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ANNEX
Imports into the Kyrgyz Republic from Moldova
(Thousand of US$)
Year H.S.
Chapter 1997 1998 1999
Total 408.5 33.6 181.0
17 43.9 - -
22 180.3 31.6 102.3
27 - - 16.3
39 1.8 - -
49 2.6 - -
59 3.6 - -
63 - 2.0 -
69 4.9 - -
70 1.0 - -
73 1.9 - -
82 2.0 - -
84 165.5 - 62.4
94 1.0 - -
Source:  National Statistics Committee.
Exports from the Kyrgyz Republic into Moldova
(Thousand of US$)
Year H.S.
Chapter 1997 1998 1999
Total 32.4 183.9 475.7
71 . 0 0 . 4 -
8 - - 14.8
12 20.2 1.2 -
24 - 161.4 459.6
39 1.0 - -
49 2.2 - -
61 1.0 0.2 -
62 5.8 0.5 -
63 1.0 1.3 -
85 1.7 18.9 0.9
87 - - 0.4
Source:  National Statistics Committee.
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