Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area

Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free-trade area between 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.

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

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.[1] The agreement replaces existing bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements between the countries. Initially, the treaty was only ratified by Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine,[2][3] however by the end of 2012, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Moldova had also completed ratification.[4][5] In December 2013, Uzbekistan signed and then ratified the treaty,[6][7] while the remaining two signatories, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, later both ratified the treaty in January 2014 and December 2015 respectively.[8][9] 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 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.[10] Nonetheless, Russia signed a decree in mid-December 2015 suspending its CIS Free Trade Agreement with respect to Ukraine from 1 January 2016.[11] In late December, the Ukrainian Government responded by passing trade restrictions on Russia, with effect from 2 January 2016.[12] Agreements between Ukraine and other EEU states within the free trade area remain in effect.

Signature and ratification

GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic DevelopmentGeorgia (country)AzerbaijanUkraineMoldovaTajikistanTurkmenistanCollective Security Treaty OrganizationEurasian Economic UnionUzbekistanKyrgyzstanKazakhstanArmeniaUnion StateBelarusRussiaCommonwealth of Independent StatesCommonwealth of Independent States Free Trade AreaBaltic AssemblyLithuaniaLatviaEstoniaCommunity for Democracy and Rights of NationsTransnistriaAbkhaziaSouth OssetiaRepublic of Artsakh
Euler diagram showing the relationships among various supranational organisations in the territory of the former Soviet Unionvde

An overview of signatures and ratifications is shown below:

StateSignatureEntry into Force[13]Comment
 Armenia[14]18 October 201117 October 2012EAEU member
 Belarus18 October 201120 September 2012EAEU member
 Kazakhstan18 October 20118 December 2012EAEU member
 Kyrgyzstan18 October 201113 December 2013EAEU member
 Moldova18 October 20119 December 2012EAEU observer
 Russia[note 1]18 October 201120 September 2012EAEU member
 Tajikistan18 October 201119 March 2016
 Ukraine[note 2]18 October 201120 September 2012Former CIS participant
 Uzbekistan13 December 201312 January 2014
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See also

References

Footnotes

  1. Suspended with regard to Ukraine from 2 January 2016
  2. Suspended with regard to Russia from 1 January 2016

Online sources

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