DUSHANBE, February 20, 2015, Asia-Plus – UNECE weekly reports Tajikistan will use UNECE recommendations for removing regulatory and procedural barriers to trade as a core part of its new development strategy.
This strategy, which is currently being finalized by the government, will set out medium and long-term socio-economic development goals, for the period 2015- 2030.
The UNECE recommendations, summarized in the study
Regulatory and Procedural Barriers to Trade in Tajikistan
, were also integrated into Tajikistan’s post-World Trade Organization accession plan in line with the Presidential Decree No. 691 of October 31, 2014.
At the request of the Government, UNECE reportedly also included the recommendations in the country’s Aid-for-Trade (AfT) action matrix in order to facilitate the successful implementation of Tajikistan’s regional integration efforts. Similarly, the Government decided to integrate the recommendations into the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the period 2016-2020.
The recommendations, which were developed in consultation with public and private sector stakeholders in the country, address both immediate and long-term priority needs in the areas of trade facilitation, technical regulation, quality assurance and metrology. They involve practical, action-oriented measures, which build on international best practices and UNECE recommendations, norms, standards and guidelines in the areas of trade facilitation and regulatory cooperation.
The recommendations support the successful implementation of, among others, the below reform measures: setting in place the required coordination and consultative institutional mechanisms for a broad participatory approach to decisions on trade facilitation; streamlining and reducing documentary requirements and administrative procedures; establishing a common risk management policy that meets the requirements of trade facilitation and the protection of human, animal, plant and environmental safety; improving border coordination by enshrining the concept of integrated border management in existing legislation; consolidating the Single Window facility with the required institutional capacities and expertise skills; addressing challenges related to transit trade; improving the quality and range of logistical services available for traders; and strengthening Tajikistan’s quality control and quality assurance systems with revamped institutional and legal structures, which establish a clear demarcation between the functions of technical regulations, standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology.
The study was carried out in 2013, using the UNECE Evaluation Methodology. It features a detailed analysis of behind and at-the-border regulatory and procedural barriers to trade, highlighting their causes, how they interact to undermine the country’s export competitiveness and the extent to which these barriers could be addressed through regional cooperation.
Established in 1947, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Besides countries in Europe, it also includes Canada, the Central Asian republics, Israel and the United States of America. The UNECE secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.
