| Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area | |
| Linking Name: | the Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area |
| Map Width: | 220px |
| Org Type: | Free-trade area |
| Membership Type: | Member states |
| Languages: | Armenian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Romanian, Russian, Tajik, Ukrainian, Uzbek. |
| Established Event1: | Free trade agreement signed |
| Established Date1: | 18 October 2011 |
| Established Event2: | Free Trade Area established |
Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free-trade area among 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, although Uzbekistan and Moldova are observers.
See also: Commonwealth of Independent States Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area. 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. The agreement replaces existing bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements among the countries. Initially, the treaty was only ratified by Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine,[1] [2] however by the end of 2012, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Moldova had also completed ratification.[3] [4] In December 2013, Uzbekistan signed and then ratified the treaty,[5] [6] while the remaining two signatories, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, later both ratified the treaty in January 2014 and December 2015 respectively.[7] [8] Azerbaijan is the only full CIS member state not to participate in the free trade area.
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 (EEU or EAEU) 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.[9] Nonetheless, Russia promulgated a decree in mid-December 2015 suspending its CIS Free Trade Agreement with respect to Ukraine from 1 January 2016.[10] In late December, the Ukrainian Government responded by passing trade restrictions on Russia, with effect from 2 January 2016.[11] Agreements between Ukraine and other EEU states within the free trade area remain in effect.
On 1 November 2022, Verkhovna Rada MP Roksolana Pidlasa made a draft bill to denounce the proposed to Treaty on the Free Trade Area (CIS) dated 18 October 2011. After meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, she said, "It is time to decolonize our trade. We have bilateral free trade agreements with all CIS member countries, the GUAM Free Trade Agreement, and we also apply the Pan-Euro-Med regional convention with Georgia and Moldova. There are many tools that work for Ukrainian manufacturers. There is no need to participate in a treaty where Russia imposes its rules and uses the right of force."[12] As the Verkhova Rada had denounced the free trade agreement on the same day,[13] Pidlasa reminded and noted that "in addition to Russia, whose trade is embargoed, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are also parties to the agreement, and Uzbekistan applies the agreement on separately defined terms."[14]
An overview of signatures and ratifications is shown below:
| State | Signature | Entry into Force[15] | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [16] | EAEU member | |||
| EAEU member | ||||
| EAEU member | ||||
| EAEU member | ||||
| EAEU observer | ||||
| [17] | EAEU member | |||
| [18] | Former CIS participant | |||
| EAEU observer |
In 2013, the protocol on the application of the CIS FTA between Uzbekistan and the CIS FTA member states was signed as a bilateral document and without any reservations to the CIS FTA agreement.[19] It entered into force in 2014.[20]