Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area

Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area
Type Free trade area
Member states Russia
Ukraine
Belarus
Uzbekistan
Moldova
Armenia
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
Establishment
• Free trade agreement signed
 18 October 2011
• Free Trade Area established
 20 September 2012

Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free trade area between Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Five CISFTA participants, all except Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Moldova are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, comprising a single economic market.

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.[1] The agreement replaced existing bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements between the countries, although the ex-Soviet states of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan & Georgia have not signed the agreement. Initially, the treaty was only ratified by Ukraine,[2] Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia and Kazakhstan,[3][4] however in December 2013 Uzbekistan signed and then ratified the treaty.[5] Kyrgyzstan has ratified the treaty with effect from 12 January 2014,[6] while Tajikistan was reported in 2014 to be close to completing the ratification process.[7]

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.[8] Nonetheless, Russia signed a decree in mid-December 2015 suspending its CIS Free Trade Agreement with respect to Ukraine from 1 January 2016.[9] In late December, the Ukrainian Government responded by passing trade restrictions on Russia, with effect from 2 January 2016.[10] Agreements between Ukraine and other EEU states within the free trade area remain in effect.

Signature and ratification

GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development Georgia (country) Azerbaijan Ukraine Moldova Tajikistan Turkmenistan Collective Security Treaty Organization Eurasian Economic Union Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan Armenia Union State Belarus Russia Commonwealth of Independent States Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area Baltic Assembly Lithuania Latvia Estonia Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations Transnistria Abkhazia South Ossetia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Euler diagram showing the relationships among various supranational organisations in the territory of the former Soviet Unionv • d • e

An overview of signatures and ratifications is shown below:

State Signature Entry into Force Comment
Armenia 18 October 2011 17 October 2012 Eurasian Economic Union member
Belarus 18 October 2011 20 September 2012 Eurasian Economic Union member
Kazakhstan 18 October 2011 8 December 2012 Eurasian Economic Union member
Kyrgyzstan 18 October 2011 13 December 2013 Eurasian Economic Union member
Moldova 18 October 2011 9 December 2012
Russia 18 October 2011 20 September 2012 Eurasian Economic Union member
Tajikistan 18 October 2011
Ukraine 18 October 2011 20 September 2012
Uzbekistan 13 December 2013 12 January 2014

See also

References

  1. ↑ CIS leaders sign free trade deal, 2011-10-18
  2. ↑ Ukraine and Canada completed a free trade agreement, July 15, 2015, 2011-07-15
  3. ↑ Russia’s Duma ratifies Eurasian Economic Union, odessatalk.com. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  4. ↑ CIS Free Trade Agreement comes into force; Baker & McKenzi, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, October 18, 2012, 2011-10-18
  5. ↑ Usbekistan: Protokoll über Beitritt zur GUS-Freihandelszone in Kraft getreten, de.ria.ru 28th December 2013.
  6. ↑ Uzbekistan joins CIS free trade zone, azernews.az. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  7. ↑ CIS FTA effective for Kyrgyzstan from 12 January 2014, bilaterals.org. Retrieved on 23 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan work out provisional scheme to control transit via Ukraine, Belarus News. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Russia suspends FTA with Ukraine as EU agreement looms". Eurasian Business Briefing. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Spotlight: EU-Ukraine trade deal triggers new round of economic clashes, news.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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