Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area
Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free-trade area between Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Five CISFTA participants, all except Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova and Tajikistan, are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, comprising a single economic market. Uzbekistan and Moldova are observers however. History. The Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Zone Agreement, proposed since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, was signed on 18 October 2011 by Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Armenia. The agreement replaces existing bilateral  and multilateral free trade agreements between the countries. Initially, the treaty was only ratified by Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, however by the end of 2012, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Moldova had also completed ratification. In December 2013, Uzbekistan signed and then ratified the treaty, while the remaining two signatories, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, later both ratified the treaty in January 2014 and December 2015 respectively. Azerbaijan is the only full CIS member state not to participate in the free trade area. European Union–Ukraine trade agreement controversy. From 1 January 2016, Ukraine and the European Union started provisionally applying a Deep and  Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. Member states of the Eurasian Economic Union held consultations on 22 December 2015 to discuss the implications of the agreement concerning the possible duty-free transit of EU goods into the EEU via Ukraine. The states agreed to implement a provisional scheme later in 2016 that would impose customs checks on goods entering the EEU from Ukraine; and long term, to establish a common information system to control all imports into the EEU's customs area. Nonetheless, Russia promulgated a decree in mid-December 2015 suspending its CIS Free Trade Agreement with respect to Ukraine from  1 January 2016. In late December, the Ukrainian Government responded by passing trade restrictions on Russia, with effect from 2 January 2016. Agreements between Ukraine and other EEU states within the free trade area remain in effect. Signature and ratification. An overview of signatures and ratifications is shown below: