WTO Conducts Trade Policy Review For Kyrgyz Republic

by Tatiana Smolenska, Tax-News.com, Moscow

22 November 2013

The World Trade Organization has released a report describing the trade policies of the Kyrgyz Republic on the basis of a review conducted between November 19 and 21.

The report notes that the Central Asian country's trade regime is likely to undergo changes in the near future, as it is expected to join the customs union currently comprised of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Adopting the customs union's common external tariff (CET) would require re-negotiation of Kyrgyz tariff bindings at the WTO, which are lower, on average.

The Kyrgyz authorities are currently drafting a roadmap for acceding to the customs union and the draft might be finalized by the end of 2013.

The WTO report also says that Kyrgyz Republic's most favored nation-applied tariffs currently average 5 percent and have remained virtually unchanged during the period of review. The country maintains low tariff protection overall, with over 20 percent of tariff lines bound at zero. Products with higher duty protection include tobacco, alcohol, fish, and clothing products. A number of applied tariffs currently exceed the Kyrgyz Republic's WTO tariff bindings.

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