Entrepreneurs discussed Azerbaijan’s WTO accession
A round table was held on the theme “Preparations for membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), its beneficiaries in agricultural and agri-food chains” with the support of the European Union, “DMI Associate”s and “Ecuita Consulting” Ltd., at the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The representatives of the Azerbaijan Entrepreneurs Confederation, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of business entities operating in Azerbaijan attended the event.
Deputy General Secretary of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Fuad Humbatov, welcomed the participants and informed them about the activities of the AEC. Speaking about the establishment of the WTO, the Deputy Secretary General expressed that many countries of the world are members of this organization. Noting that the WTO is the most important organization that regulates international trade in goods, services and intellectual property, F. Humbatov also emphasized that negotiations were held on Azerbaijan’s accession to this organization.
The co-worker of the Trade Policy and the World Trade Organization Department of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Firangiz Asadova, informed the participants about the project:
“The main beneficiary of the project is the Ministry of Economy. The fundamental goal of the project is to support the reform of domestic trade and Azerbaijan’s accession to the WTO. Another key component is the strengthening of cooperation between the public and private sectors. After accession to the WTO, the private sector can be subject to both positive and negative consequences. In this regard, we are working with project representatives and their support in order to strengthen cooperation with the private sector, government institutions and improve the knowledge of the public sector in this direction”, said Asadova.
The EU coordinator for the EU delegation in Azerbaijan, Ulviyya Abdullayeva, said that the European Union is interested in supporting Azerbaijan in this regard, saying that the European Union supports Azerbaijan in the negotiations on accession to the WTO.
The WTO also plays an important role in the development of relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan. As you know, last year the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed an order to start negotiations on a new agreement on a strategic partnership between the European Union and Azerbaijan. It will replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1999. Negotiations were started last February. However, some issues were not resolved in the part of the document, mainly related to the WTO. All provisions of the section relating to trade must comply with WTO rules. The WTO is a precondition for the signing of a new comprehensive agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan. From this point of view, the closer to the WTO, the more negotiations will be accelerated, and finally a new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan will be signed,” said Ulviyya Abdullayeva.
Abdullayeva said that post-Soviet countries Uzbekistan and Belarus are already interested in joining the WTO and are negotiating in this direction. It was noted that Azerbaijan’s membership in this organization, as a result, contributes to the country’s sustainable economic development and further improvement of the socio-economic status of the population.
The leading adviser of the State Support Department for the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Asif Ismayilov, said that the WTO’s influence on the country’s economy, including agriculture, and the advantages of the agro-food chain are of great importance in the negotiation process.
Project manager of “Supporting and Strengthening the Potential of Trade Policy and the WTO Section of the Ministry of Economy at the WTO Accession Talks” organized by the European Union, Marius Bordalba, informed the participants about the objectives and activities of the project. Marius Bordalba, positively assessing the activities and results of Azerbaijan’s accession to the WTO, said that after Azerbaijan becomes a WTO member, Azerbaijani companies would enjoy WTO rules during the export.
Noting that the first fundamental principle of the WTO is intolerance towards discrimination, Mr. Bordalba mentioned that, according to this no member state could discriminate or hostile to any product imported legally in its territory. In accordance with the second fundamental principle of the WTO, the “national regime”, member countries should place goods under the same regime. Bordalba added that another requirement for member states is related to transparent trade policies. He noted the final limit of tariffs for the import of food products belonging to agriculture was determined for all WTO members.
WTO rules include the use of anti-dumping duties for those who use dumping when importing goods and services, compensation for illegal subsidies. It was stressed that the WTO rules restrict the use of policies that could damage the interests of trading partners. The main goal of the WTO is the liberalization of international trade by eliminating non-tariff barriers. The speaker noted that Azerbaijan has chosen its membership in the WTO and has chosen a development strategy focused on foreign languages, using the opportunities of international trade.
At the end of the meeting questions by participants were answered.