Finance:Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area

Short description: Trade agreement formed in 2011

Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free-trade area among 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, although Uzbekistan and Moldova are observers.

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 among 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 (EEU or EAEU) 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.

On 1 November 2022, Verkhovna Rada MP Roksolana Pidlasa made a draft bill to denounce the proposed to Treaty on the Free Trade Area (CIS) dated 18 October 2011. After meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, she said, "It is time to decolonize our trade. We have bilateral free trade agreements with all CIS member countries, the GUAM Free Trade Agreement, and we also apply the Pan-Euro-Med regional convention with Georgia and Moldova. There are many tools that work for Ukrainian manufacturers. There is no need to participate in a treaty where Russia imposes its rules and uses the right of force."

Signature and ratification

An overview of signatures and ratifications is shown below:

State	Signature	Entry into Force	Comment
Armenia	18 October 2011	17 October 2012	EAEU member
Belarus	18 October 2011	20 September 2012	EAEU member
Kazakhstan	18 October 2011	8 December 2012	EAEU member
Kyrgyzstan	18 October 2011	13 December 2013	EAEU member
Moldova	18 October 2011	9 December 2012	EAEU observer
Russia	18 October 2011	20 September 2012	EAEU member
Tajikistan	18 October 2011	19 March 2016
Ukraine	18 October 2011	20 September 2012	Former CIS participant
Uzbekistan	13 December 2013	12 January 2014	EAEU observer

In 2013, the protocol on the application of the CIS FTA between Uzbekistan and the CIS FTA member states was signed as a bilateral document and without any reservations to the CIS FTA agreement. It entered into force in 2014.

See also

• Commonwealth of Independent States
• Economic integration
• Eurasian Union
• Free trade areas in Europe
• Post-Soviet states
• Trade bloc
• Rules of Origin
• Market access
• Free-trade area
• Tariff

External links

• Text of agreement