WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG172/1 
27 July 2004 
 
 (04-3231) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:   English 
  
 
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND KAZAKHSTAN 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 17 June 2004,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Armenia. 
 
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AGREEMENT 
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN ON FREE TRADE 
   The Government of Republic of Armenia  and the Government of Republic of Kazakhstan , 
hereafter referred to as the Parties,   
Striving  to develop trade and economic coopera tion between Republic of Armenia and 
Republic of Kazakhstan based upon eq uality and mutual benefits,  
 
Guided  by the principles of the Agreement by the Council of Heads of CIS States of April 15, 
1994 on establishing a free-trade zone, and  
 
Expressing  their determination to develop bilatera l relationships in the trade and economic 
interaction area in compliance with inte rnational trade norms and regulations,  
  HAVE AGREED  as follows:  
 
Article 1 
 
1. The Parties shall not apply customs duties or equivalent taxes and fees to the export and 
import of goods that originated within the customs te rritory of one of the Parties and are destined for 
the customs territory of the other Party. Exemptions  to these trading terms may be formalized for an 
agreed-upon list of commodities by a separate protocol, in the event the parties consider this to be 
necessary.  
2. For the purposes of this Agreement, and for its e ffective term, the country of origin shall be 
determined according to the Rules of Establishi ng the Country of Origin for Goods, approved by 
Resolution of CIS Board of State Governments on September 24, 1993. The following goods are 
considered to have originated within the cu stoms territory of anyone of the Parties:  
(a) Completely produced on the territory of the Parties or;  
(b) Having been processed on the territory of th e Parties by utilizing raw materials and 
components of third country origin, whose classification under the Harmonized WT/REG172/1 
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 System of Commodity Description and Coding  changed in at least one of the first 
four digits due to this processing;  
(c) Produced with the use of raw materials and components listed in "b" above.  
 Detailed rules on establishing commodity origin s shall be coordinated by the Parties and 
included in a document that shall become an integral part of this Agreement.  
 
Article 2 
 
 The Parties shall not:   
- directly or indirectly impose any internal taxes or fees on commodities that are subject 
to this Agreement, in excess of corres ponding taxes and fees imposed on similar 
commodities of domestic production or of third country origin;  
 - apply any special limitations or conditions to commodities that are subject to this 
Agreement, in excess of limitations or cond itions applied under similar circumstances 
to similar commodities of domestic production or of third country origin;  
 - apply special rules to warehousing, reloading,  storage, and transportation of goods that 
originated within the territory of the Parti es, and to payments and payment transfers, 
different from rules applied in similar situations regardin g goods of domestic 
production or of third country origin.  
 
Article 3 
 
1. The Parties shall refrain from discriminating, introducing quot as or similar measures against 
each other in the export and/or import of goods within the framework of this Agreement.  
2. Quotas referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Ar ticle may be introduced unilaterally, within 
reasonable limits, and with strictly defined time frames only in the event of:  
- heavy deficit of a given commodity on the in ternal market -until the market condition 
stabilizes;  
 
- heavy deficit in the balance of payment -until the balance of payment situation 
stabilizes;  
 - some commodity being imported into the territory of one of the Parties in such 
increased quantities or under such conditions that  harm or threaten to harm domestic 
manufacturers of similar or directly competing goods.  
 3. If necessary, the quotas referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article may be formalized in a 
separate protocol to this Agreement. 
4. The Party that uses quotas pursuant to Paragraph 2 of this Article prior to formal introduction 
of these quotas, shall, upon request of the other Party, provide the necessary information on the 
reasons, forms, and possible time frames fo r using these quotas and any additional requested 
information.  
5. The Party that intends to apply protective measure s shall notify the other Party of its intent in 
a timely fashion, not later than 30 days before  the planned implementation of such measures.   WT/REG172/1 
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 6. When selecting protective measures indicated in this  Article, the Parties shall give priority to 
those that exert the least negative impact upo n achieving the goals of this Agreement.  
Article 4 
 
 All settlements and payments related to the trade/economic cooperati on between the Parties 
shall be carried out in compliance with the inter-b ank settlement agreements between the authorized 
banks of the Parties.   
Article 5 
  For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "r e-export" shall refer to the export of goods that 
originated within the territory of one of the Parti es by the other Party to th e outside of its customs 
territory, for the purpose of exporting it into a third country.    Neither Party shall permit re-export of goods th at were subject to tariff-based or non-tariff-
based regulation while being exported by their Coun try of origin. The Parties shall establish a listing 
of goods, whose re-exportation is prohibited, and shall also exchange lists of goods that are subject to 
tariff-based or non-tariff-based regulation. Re-export of  such goods into third countries is permitted 
only upon written consent and upon conditions stipulated by an authorized state agency of the country 
of origin of the subject goods. In the event of non- compliance with this stipulation, the Party whose 
interests have been violated has the right for unila teral introduction of measures to regulate export of 
goods into the territory of the Party that perm itted the non-sanctioned re-export, upon prior notice of 
the intent to introduce such measures, and, if  necessary, upon conducting joint consultations.  
 
Article 6 
  The Parties shall exchange customs-related information, including the available customs 
statistics relating to the subject of this Agreemen t, fully, and on regular basis. The appropriate 
authorized agencies of the Parties shall coordina te the manner of such information exchange.  
 
Article 7 
 1. The Parties shall exchange information about th eir international free-trade agreements with 
third parties.  
2. The Parties shall inform each other about any ch anges in the customs tari ffs enforced in their 
countries.  
Article 8 
 
 Pursuant to their national legislations, the Par ties shall declare incompatible with the purposes 
of this Agreement any unfair business practices exhibited, in particular, in the following:  
 
- entering into agreements between enterpri ses or their associations for the purpose of 
hindering or limiting competition or to disr upt the competitive environment within the 
territories of the Parties;  
 - carrying out actions that aid one or a few enterprises in the use of their dominant 
position, limiting competition within the entir e territory of the Parties or within a 
significant part of it.  
  WT/REG172/1 
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 Article 9 
 
 For the purposes of implementing tariff-based a nd non-tariff based regulation measures in the 
bilateral economic relationships, statistical info rmation exchange, and for carrying out customs 
procedures, the Parties have agreed to use the uni fied, nine-digit Commodity Nomenclature of CIS 
Foreign Economic Activities that is based upon the Harmonized Commodities Description and 
Coding System and Combined Tariffs and Statistics Nomenclature of the EEC. For the needs of their own countries, these Commodity Nomenclatures may be expended as necessary.   
Article 10 
 
 Each Party shall provide free transit over the territory of its country for goods originated within the customs territory of the other Party or ha ving originated in third countries and destined for 
the customs territory of the other Party or any th ird country, and shall suppl y the exporters, importers, 
and shipping companies involved in such transit operations with all the available resources and 
services required for the execution of these transit operations on terms (including financial) that are 
not worse than the terms for providing the same resources and  services to exporters, importers, and national shipping companies of any other third country.    Each Party guarantees waiving any customs du ties and transit fees on trans-shipment of goods 
originated within the customs territory of the other Party, and this shall be formalized by a separate 
agreement.  
  Rates on trans-shipment by any means of tran sportation, including the rates for loading and 
unloading operations, shall be economically justif ied and shall not exceed normal operating expenses, 
including reasonable profit rates.  
 
Article 11 
 
1. This Agreement shall not prevent any of the Pa rties from taking measures of state control in 
the foreign economic relations area, generally accep ted in the international practice, that are 
considered necessary for compliance with internati onal agreements to which they are or intend to 
become a party, if these measures relate to:  
- protection of public morale and public order;  
 - protection of human life and health;  
 
- conservation of animal and plant life;  
 - protection of the environment;  
 - conservation of valuable art, archeological, and historical objects that are national          
treasures;  
 
- protection of industrial and intellectual property;  
 - trade in gold, silver, and other precious metals and stones; conservation of non-
renewable natural resources;  
 
- limiting exports of a given commodity, in the event the domestic price for this 
commodity is lower that the world market price due to implementation of governmental 
support programs;   WT/REG172/1 
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 - disturbances in the balance of payments.  
 
2. Nothing in this Agreement precludes the right of any of the Parties to use any means of state 
control deemed necessary by the Part y, if these measures relate to:  
- assuring national security, including the preven tion of leaks in conf idential information 
related to state secrets;  
 - trade in arms, military technology, m unitions, offering military-type services, 
technology transfer, and providing services in the manufacture of armaments and military hardware, and for other purposes;  
 
- supplying fissionable nuclear materials and sources of radioactive substances, 
processing of radioactive wastes;  
 - measures taken at time of war or during othe r extreme situations in the international 
relations;  
 - actions taken in compliance with the UN Ch arter for maintaining international peace 
and security.  
 
Article 12 
 
 Provisions of this Agreement replace the provi sions of any Agreements between the Parties 
insofar as the latter are incompatible  or identical with the prior. 
 
Article 13 
 
 Provisions of this Agreement do not affect an y of the obligations taken by the Parties under 
other international agreements concluded earlier by the Parties with third countries, including 
Agreements concluded within the CIS framewor k with the participation of the Parties.  
 
Article 14 
 
 Nothing in this Agreement prevents any of the Parties from establishing relationships with 
third countries and with their associations and inte rnational organizations on the condition that these 
relationships shall not contra dict the purposes and provisions of this Agreement.  
 
Article 15 
 
 Based upon the purposes of this Agreement and for the purpose of developing recommendations for improving the trade and econom ic cooperation between the two states, the 
Parties have agreed to create an Armenian-Kazakh commission.   
 The Commission shall meet upon the initiative of e ither Party, but not less than once a year, at 
alternating locations betwee n the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Kazakhstan.  
 
Article 16 
  The Parties may make amendments and additions  to this Agreement upon mutual agreement. 
Any amendment shall become effectiv e after the Parties are notified th at all formalities needed for the 
enforcement of such amendment have been completed.  WT/REG172/1 
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 Article 17 
 
 All disputes related to interpretation and enforc ement of this Agreement shall be resolved by 
the Parties by means of consultations and negotiations.   
Article 18 
 
 This Agreement becomes effective upon receipt of  the last written notice of completion of all 
intra-state procedures required for the enforcement of this Agreement and shall remain in force until 
either of the Parties should notify the other Party wi th a six-month advance written notice of its desire 
to terminate this Agreement.  
  Concluded in the City of Astana, on Septem ber 2, 1999 in two original copies, each in 
Armenian, Kazakh, and Russian languages, with all texts equally valid.   
 The Parties shall use the Russian language text  as a guide to resolving any misunderstandings 
between the Parties regarding the interpretation, application, and execution of this Agreement.  
  The Agreement is effective as of December 25, 2001.     
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  WT/REG172/1 
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 ANNEX  
 
PROTOCOL OF EXEMPTIONS FROM FREE TRADE TERMS ESTABLISHED BY THE FREE 
TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND 
THE GOVERNMENT OF REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN ON SEPTEMBER 2, 1999 
 
 The Government of Republic of Armenia and the Government of Republic of Kazakhstan, 
hereafter referred to as the Parties, have signed this Protocol stating the following: 
 
Article 1 
 
 The exemptions, provided for by the Article 1 of the Agreement Between the Government of 
Republic of Armenia and the Government of Repub lic of Kazakhstan on Free Trade of September 2, 
1999 (hereafter- the Agreement), apply to all goods listed in the Appendix.   
Article 2 
 
1. Regarding the goods exempted from free-trade terms according to Article 1 of this Protocol, 
the Parties shall offer most-favoured nati on terms to each other concerning:  
- export-related taxes and fees (as regards goods listed in the Appendix), including the 
collection methods for such taxes and fees;  
 
- provisions dealing with customs processing of trans-shipments, transportation, 
warehousing, re-loading, and similar services;  
 - methods of payment and payment transfers;  
 
- issuing of export and import licenses;  
 - regulations on selling, buying, transporting, distribution, and utilization of goods on the 
domestic market.  
 
2. Provisions of Paragraph 1 of th is Article do not apply to:  
- preferences offered by any of the Parties to third countries for the purpose of creating a 
Customs Union or a Free-Trade zone or as a r esult of such unions or zones having been 
created;  
 
- preferences offered to developing countries in  accordance with the laws of the Parties;  
 - preferences offered to neighbouring countri es for the purpose of promoting near-border 
trade.  
 
Article 3 
 
1. This Protocol is an integral part of the Ag reement Between the Government of Republic of 
Armenia and the Government of Republic of Kazakhstan on Free Trade and becomes effective 
concurrently with said Agreement.  
2. This Protocol remains in force for one year pursuant to Article 1 of the Agreement Between 
the Government of Republic of Armenia and the Government of Republic of Kazakhstan on Free 
Trade.  WT/REG172/1 
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  Concluded in the City of Astana, on Septem ber 2, 1999 in two original copies, each in 
Armenian, Kazakh, and Russian languages, with all texts equally valid.    The Russian language text shall be used for interpretation of provisions of this Protocol. 
 
 
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