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Stability Pact Trade Working Group

Decreasing Border Delays through Elimination of Trade Barriers Jan Forest, USAID Mark Stomski, MBSP Advisor Reha Uran, SECI Turkpro SEE Regional Market Opportunity Forum November 1-3, 2006 Bucharest.

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Stability Pact Trade Working Group

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  1. Decreasing Border Delays through Elimination of Trade Barriers Jan Forest, USAIDMark Stomski, MBSP AdvisorReha Uran, SECI TurkproSEE Regional Market Opportunity ForumNovember 1-3, 2006Bucharest

  2. Stability Pact TradeWorking GroupActivitiesJan Forest

  3. Stability Pact Trade Working Group • SEE countries, EC, WTO, bilateral governments (including USA). • 2001: MoU on Trade Policy and Facilitation. • 2005: agreement to consolidate bilateral FTAs into a single FTA. • 2006: 32 bilateral free trade agreements. • April 2006: SEE Prime Ministers meeting – enlargement and amendment of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA).

  4. CEFTA Negotiations • Four rounds of negotiation between June 2006 and October 2006, chaired by the SP. • November 9 2006: Agreement to be initialled. • December 19 2006: Agreement to be signed at CEFTA Summit of Prime Ministers in Bucharest. • January 2007: EU Accession of Romania and Bulgaria. • July 2007: Entry into force – replacing bilateral FTAs.

  5. Key Features of CEFTA • Modern, ambitious and inclusive FTA. • Liberalization of industrial goods by 2008 and further liberalization of agricultural goods. • Harmonization of trade rules and procedures. • Reduction of Technical Barriers to Trade. • Common system of rules of origin. • New areas: Trade in services, intellectual property, government procurement. • Strengthened dispute settlement mechanism and strengthened institutional support framework.

  6. SPTWG activities regarding elimination of non-tariff barriers in SEE ▪ Meeting of focal points in Bucharest October 31-November 1: • Introductions and communication network. • Inter-ministry cooperation. • NTB programs in region. • Content of annual NTB reports. • Next meeting in March 2007: • Finalize 2007 reports. • Address specific NTB. • Discuss transition to CEFTA committee.

  7. SPTWG has identified the following NTBs as having the highest impact in SEE: • Burdensome customs procedures. • Transport constraints. • Product regulations and standards. • Visa policies. • Infrastructure. • Other (includes tax rate differences, import licensing, import quotas, special import levies).

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