DUSHANBE, December 6, Asia-Plus — A two-day seminar to discuss the Economic Cooperation Organization Trade Agreement (ECOTA) is concluding in Dushanbe today.
Inaugurating the seminar, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Larisa Kislyakova yesterday noted that it aimed to consider issues such as management of trade procedures, development of trade, bringing down tariffs and removing non-tariff barriers that impede development of trade in the region.
According to her, ECOTA is of significant importance for development of trade as the main component of regional cooperation. Tajikistan is interested in expanding trade with neighboring countries and its initiative to hold the first seminar on ECOTA in Dushanbe is evidence of this, the deputy minister said. .
According to her, a trade turnover of Tajikistan with member nations of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) over the first ten months of this year has amounted to $1.2694 billion, which is 40 percent of its external trade turnover for the report period. “Unfortunately not all member nations of ECO have to date singed and ratified ECOTA that impedes implementation of the agreement,” said Kislyakova, “However, almost all countries that signed the agreement have taken part in the Dushanbe seminar.”
Tajikistan along with other member nations of ECO signed the ECOTA in Islamabad, Pakistan on July 17, 2003 with a pledge of taking the trade liberalization process forward by making accelerated progress towards actualization of ECOTA by 2011. The Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) ratified the agreement on June 23, 2004.
According to electronic edition of Pakistan’s Dawn (January 25, 2005), four ECO member countries had ratified the ECOTA by January 25, 2005 for bringing down tariff to around 15 per cent on all products within a period of eight years.
According to the agreement, the tariff would be scaled down in eight phases and there would be no increase in the existing tariff on the goods coming from ECO region. It was agreed in the agreement that the items being traded within the ECO region would constitute a positive list and no member country would either block or raise duty on it. Under the agreement, the positive list would expand every year to give coverage to at least 5 per cent more goods for the coverage of 80 per cent of goods by the end of the eight years.
It was also agreed that the reduction in tariff would be done gradually in eight years time by reducing at minimum 10 per cent customs duty on each item of the positive list. The member countries would also take measures for removing non-tariff barriers on imports and exports for facilitating the trade among the member countries.
The contracting parties should notify each other regarding the types of para tariff charges and their customs duties equivalence. All para tariff charges having effect equivalent to customs duties on imports should be abolished within two years of the entry into force of the agreement.
