The accession process of the Republic of Tajikistan to the WTO
On 10 December 2012 the Accession Package was approved by the General Council. The Protocol on Accession of the Republic of Tajikistan to the WTO was signed by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomaly Rahmon and the WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.
The Protocol on Accession was subsequently ratified by the Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan on 9 January 2013 and notification on ratification was submitted to the WTO Secretariat on 31 January 2013. The Republic of Tajikistan became 159th WTO member on 2 March 2013.
The process of accession of the Republic of Tajikistan to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has begun in 2001, when the application for membership under GATT Article XII was submitted. Subsequently, the Working Party on Tajikistan’s accession to WTO was established and Tajikistan has received the observer status in the WTO.
The Working Party included more than 30 WTO members, wherein 27 members of European Union were considered as one member.
The accession process of the Republic of Tajikistan to the WTO started from holding first part of Working Party meeting on WTO accession of Republic of Tajikistan in Secretariat of WTO in Geneva. Altogether the Republic of Tajikistan had 9 meetings of Working Party, 4 of which were hold in 2012 and on October 26, 2012 on final meeting the Report of Working Party was approved and was submitted to the General Council of WTO.
Negotiations of the Republic of Tajikistan with WTO members were bilateral and multilateral on market access of goods and services. The multilateral negotiations were held within the Working Party meetings on accession of the Republic of Tajikistan to the WTO in Geneva. On Working Party meetings the foreign trade of the Republic of Tajikistan was held. Bilateral negotiations were held with the WTO members on market access of goods and services of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Republic of Tajikistan concluded bilateral negotiations with 13 countries on market access of goods and 6 other countries on market access of services and signed Protocols.
In the process of accession Tajikistan adopted or amended more than 100 laws and regulations and brought them in conformity with WTO rules and disciplines.
During the bilateral negotiations on market access of goods and services Republic of Tajikistan could protect its interest. For example, with achieved results on import tariffs of 8% which is relatively high and actually higher than the average currently applied rate 7,3% and is better than such countries as Montenegro (5,1), Croatia (6,1%), Albania (7%), Moldova (7%), Macedonia (7,1%), Georgia (7,4%), Kyrgyzstan (7,5%) and Russia (7,8%).
Negotiations on market access services resulted in accepting specific commitments in 11 sectors and 111 subsectors (from 155 subsectors) and this rate is better than such countries as Moldova (147 subsectors), Ukraine (137 subsectors), Kyrgyzstan (136 subsectors), Georgia (125 subsectors) and Russia (122).
The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan is paying serious attention to adaptation of the country’s economy to new conditions of competition in the global arena and to development of the program of adaptation of the economy to the post WTO accession conditions, which will be directed to the reforms and improvement of the national legislation, to concrete measures for the development of sensitive sectors of the country’s economy.