WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/REG75/1
15 June 1999
(99-2401)
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:  English
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC AND UZBEKISTAN
The following text reproduces the Agreement and the Protocol on Exceptions to the Free
Trade Regime between the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan.
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AGREEMENT ON FREE TRADE BETWEEN
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan ,
hereinafter referred to the Contracting Parties,
Aspiring  to the development of trade economic cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and
the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of equality and mutual benefit,
Taking into account  the formed integration economic relations of the Kyrgyz Republic and
the Republic of Uzbekistan and intercomplementation of economies of the two States,
Being guided by  the provisions of the Agreement on the Creation of a Common Economic
Area,
Considering  that the free transfer of goods and services requires the execution of mutually
coordinated measures,
Confirming  the adherence of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan to the
principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization
(WTO),
Hereby agreed as follows:
Article 1
Being guided by the principles of equality and mutual profit and interest, the Parties shall
develop and expand trade economic relations between business entities regardless their form of
ownership on the basis of direct economic relations, following legislative acts in force in the
Contracting States.
Each of the Parties shall refrain from actions which can damage economically the other Party.WT/REG75/1
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Article 2
1. The Contracting Parties shall provide a free trade regime to each other.
The Contracting Parties shall not apply customs duties, taxes and levies, which have
equivalent effect, as well as quantitative restrictions, to exportation and/or importation of goods
originating in the customs territory of one of th e Contracting Parties and intended for the customs
territory of the other Contracting Party. Exceptions to this trade regime according to the coordinated
Goods Nomenclature shall be in the form of documents which are integral part of this Agreement.
2. In accordance with paragraph 1of this Article, the Contracting Parties shall yearly develop
and coordinate a general schedule of exceptions to the free trade regime and methods of applying suchexceptions.
3. For the purposes of this Agreement and for the period it is effective, goods originating in the
territories of the Contracting Parties shall be goods determined by the Regulations on Determining a
Country of Origin, as of 24 September, 1993, appr oved by the Decision of the Governments Heads’
Council of the Community of Independent States.
Article 3
Each Contracting Party shall not:
- directly or indirectly impose on goods of the other Contracting Party, subject to this
Agreement, domestic taxes or levies which exceed the relevant taxes or levies
imposed on  similar domestically produced goods or goods originating in third
countries;
- introduce with respect to importation or exportation of goods, subject to this
Agreement, any special restrictions or requirements which in a similar situation are
not applied to similar domestically produced goods or to goods originating in third
countries;
- with respect to warehousing, transhipping, storing and transporting goods originating
in the territory of the other Contracting Party and with respect to payments and
transfer of payments, apply rules other than those which are similarly applied with
respect to its own goods or goods originating in third countries.
Article 4
Under the framework of this Agreement, in mu tual trade the Contracting Parties shall refrain
from applying with respect to the other Contracting Party discriminatory measures, or from
introducing quantitative restrictions or measures, equivalent with them, with respect to exportation
and/or importation of goods.
The Contracting Parties may unilaterally establish quantitative or other special restrictions,
but only in reasonable limits and for a strictly appointed term.
These restrictions must be exclusive and may be applied only in cases provided by the
Agreements under the GATT/WTO.
A Contracting Party which applies quantitative restrictions in compliance with this Article
must, as far as possible in advance, provide the ot her Party with full information concerning the basicWT/REG75/1
Page 3
reasons for the introduction, forms and expected terms of applying the mentioned restrictions.  After
this, consultations shall be scheduled.
Article 5
This Agreement shall not hamper the right of any of the Contracting Parties to unilaterally
take measures of state regulation in the area of foreign economic relations generally accepted in the
international practice which it considers necessary for the protection of its vital interests or which are
necessary for the implementation of the international treaties of which it is a signatory or intends to
become a signatory, if these measures concern:
- protection of life and health of people, environment, animals and plants;
- protection of public moral and order;
- ensuring national security;
- trade in arms, ammunition and military equipment;
- liveries of fissionable materials and sources of radio-active substances, utilization of
radio-active wastes;
- trade in gold, silver or other precious metals and stones;
- preservation of exhaustible natural resources;
- violation of balance of payments;
- limitations of products export if domestic prices for them are lower than the world
prices as a result of the implementation of State support programs;
- protection of industrial and intellectual property;
- protection of values of national treasure;
- measures applied in military time or  under other extraordinary circumstances in
international relations;
- actions for the fulfilment of obligations on the basis of the UNO’s Charter to- preserve the international peace and safety.
A Contracting Party that applies such measures in compliance with this Article must, as far as
possible in advance, provide the other Contracting Party with full information concerning the basic
reasons for the introduction, forms and expected terms of applying the mentioned restrictions.  After
this, consultations shall be scheduled.
Article 6
All settlements and payments on trade economic cooperation between the Contracting Parties
shall be coordinated by a separate inter-banking agreement.
Article 7
The Contracting Parties shall, on a regular basis, exchange information on domestic legal
regulation of foreign economic relations, as well as on issues of trade, investments, taxation, banking
and insurance activity and other services, on transport and customs issues, including customs statisticsthat concerns the Contracting Parties.WT/REG75/1
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The Contracting Parties shall immediately inform each other of changes in the national
legislation which may affect the implementation of this Agreement.
The authorized bodies of the Contracting Parties shall coordinate the procedure of exchanging
such information.
The provisions of this Article shall not:- be interpreted as those which bind competent bodies of either Contracting Party to
give information which can not be received according to legislation or in the course
of usual administrative practice of one of the Contracting Parties;
- provide information which would disclose a trade, entrepreneurship, industrial,
commercial or professional secret, or a trade process, or other information the
disclosure of which would contradict the State’s interests of the Contracting Party.
Article 8
The Contracting Parties shall acknowledge incompatibility of unfair business practice with
the objectives of this Agreement and shall be oblig ed not to allow/permit and eliminate the following
methods of the practice:
- agreements between enterprises, decisions made by the enterprises’ associations, and
general methods of business practice aiming at preventing from or restricting
competition, or violating conditions for competition on the territories of the
Contracting Parties;
- actions with the help of which one or several enterprises use their dominant position,
restricting competition on the whole or considerable part of the territory of the
Contracting Parties.
Article 9
When carrying out measures of tariff and non-tariff regulation of bilateral economic relations,
for exchanging statistical information and carrying out customs procedures, the Contracting Parties
shall apply a single nine-digit Goods Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity (GN FEA) based
on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System and the Combined Tariff Statistical
Nomenclature of the European Economic Union.  Th e Contracting Parties shall, for their own needs,
if necessary, carry out the development of a Goods Nomenclature beyond nine digits.
The introduction of a standard copy of the Goods Nomenclature shall be carried out on a
mutually coordinated basis through the existing representative offices in relevant international
organizations.
Article 10
The Contracting Parties have agreed that the observance of the principle of transit freedom
shall be the most important condition for achieving the objectives of this Agreement and shall be an
essential element of the process of their attachment to the system of international division of labourand cooperation.
In this respect, each Contracting Party shall provide a free transit, via its territory, of goods
originating in customs territory of the other Contracting Party and/ or third countries and intended for
customs territory of the other Contracting  Party or any third country.  Each Contracting Party shallWT/REG75/1
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provide exporters, importers or carriers with all means and services available and necessary for
ensuring transit on terms not worse than those on which the same means and services are provided to
their own exporters, importers or carriers or to exporters, importers or carriers of any third state.
The procedure and conditions for the movement/passing of goods over the territory of the
Contracting Parties shall be regulated in compliance with international Transportation Rules.
Article 11
Each Contracting Party shall not allow/permit a non-sanctioned re-exportation of goods, in
respect of exportation of which the other Contracting Party, where these goods originate in, applies
measures of state regulation and/or grants foreign economic privileges during their exportation fromits customs territory.  The Contracting Parties shall establish a schedule of goods for which a non-
sanctioned re-exportation is prohibited.  They shall also exchange schedules of goods to which
measures of state regulation are applied.
Re-exportation of such goods to third countries may be carried out only with the written
consent and on terms to be determined by the authorized body of the State which is the country of
origin of these goods.
Article 12
With a view to follow an agreed policy of expo rt control with respect to third countries, the
Contracting Parties shall conduct regular consultations and take mutually agreed measures for the
creation of the effective export control system.
Article 13
The provisions of this Agreement shall replace provisions of the bilateral agreements
concluded earlier between the Contacting Parties to that extent to which the latter is either not
compatible with the former or is identical with them.
Article 14
Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent any of the Contracting Parties from establishing
relations with third countries or fulfilling undertaken commitments in compliance with any other
international agreement of which this Contracting Pa rty is a signatory or may be a signatory, provided
that these relations and commitments do not  contradict the provisions and objectives of this
Agreement.
Article 15
Each Contracting Party shall, in complian ce with its legislation and international
commitments, provide equal legal, as well as judicial protection of rights and lawful interests ofbusiness entities of the other Contracting Party.
Article 16
Disputes between the Contracting Parties regarding the interpretation or application of the
provisions hereof shall be settled by way of negotiations or by any other way acceptable for the
Contracting Parties.
The Contracting Parties shall aspire to avoid conflict situations in mutual trade.WT/REG75/1
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Article 17
To carry out the objectives of this Agreement and work out recommendations on improving
trade economic cooperation between the two States, the Contracting Parties have agreed to establish a
joint Uzbek-Kyrgyz Commission.
Article 18
If necessary, amendments or supplements can be made by agreement of the Parties.
Article 19
This Agreement shall come into force from the date of exchanging notifications on the
fulfilment by the Contracting Parties of inner-state procedures necessary for this and shall be in force
before the expiration of 12 months from the date when one of the Contracting Parties sends a written
notification to the other Contracting Party of its intention to terminate the Agreement.
The provisions of this Agreement shall be applied, after its termination, to contracts between
enterprises and organizations of both countries concluded but not implemented in the period of its
validity, but no more than 5 years.
Done in the city of Tashkent on 24 December 1996, in two originals, each is in Kyrgyz,
Uzbek, and Russian.  All the texts shall be equally valid.
In order to interpret the provisions of this Agreement the text in Russian shall be preferable.
For the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic
For the Government of the Republic of UzbekistanWT/REG75/1
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ANNEX
Protocol on the Exception to Free Trade Regime to the Agreement on Free Trade
between the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the
Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan as of 24 December 1996
The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan,
further referred to as the Contracting Parties hereby agreed as follows:
Article 1
Exceptions provided by Article 2 of the Agreement on Free Trade between the Government
of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as of “24” December
1996, shall apply to:
(i) Goods subject to export tariff legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and
legislation on licensing and quoting of export and import (of works and services), thatis in force at the moment of customs clearance of goods during their
exportation/importation from the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Kyrgyz Republic or
vice versa (for the moment of signing this Protocol, export tariffs and restrictions in
the area of non-tariff regulation of exportation and importation shall be in force,
which are established by No 219 Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of theRepublic of Uzbekistan, as of 18 June 1996, (Annexes 1, 2) and No 287 Resolution,
as of 25 July 1995, (Annexes 3,4,5,6,8,9)).
(ii) Goods subject to export tariff legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic and legislation on
licensing and quoting of exportation and importation of goods (works, services)which is in force at the moment of customs clearance during their
exportation/importation from the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Uzbekistan and
vice versa (for the moment of signing this Protocol, export tariffs and restrictions in
the area of non-tariff regulation of exportation and importation shall be in force,
which are established by No 408 Governmental Resolution of the Kyrgyz Republic,
as of 13 June 1994, and No 97 Governmental Resolution, as of 22 March 1995)).
The Contracting Parties shall immediately inform each other of all changes in the domestic
legislation on the above mentioned issues.
Article 2
1. With respect to goods to which tariff and non-tariff export restrictions are applied in
compliance with Article 1 hereof, the Contracting Parties shall provide each other with the MFN
treatment with respect to:
- customs duties and levies, charging of such duties and levies, procedures and rules
relating to exportation of goods, including those which relate to their customs
clearance, transit, warehousing and transhipment;
- taxes and other domestic levies of any kind directly or indirectly related to goods to
be exported;
- rules of sale, purchase, transportation, distribution and use of goods in the domestic
market;
- issue of licenses.WT/REG75/1
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Article 3
The provisions of Article 2 hereof shall not be applied with respect to advantages and
privileges provided by each of the Contracting Parties to:
- third countries in order to create a customs union or a free trade area, or as a result of
the creation of such a union or area;
- developing countries on the basis of international agreements;- neighbouring countries with a view to facilitate frontier trade;- each other in compliance with special Agreements.
Article 4
1. This Protocol shall be integral part of the Agreement on Free Trade between the Government
of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as of “24” December,
1996, and shall come into force at the sa me time with the mentioned Agreement.
This Protocol shall be in force for the period until a new Protocol provided by Article 2 of the
Agreement on Free Trade is signed.
Done in the city of Tashkent, on December 24, 1996, in duplicate, in the Kyrgyz, Uzbek and
Russian languages.  All the texts shall be equally valid.
The text in Russian shall be used for purposes of  interpreting the provisions of this Protocol.
For the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic
For the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan
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