Moldova ratifies CIS Free Trade Zone Treaty
CHISINAU. Sept 27 (Interfax) - The Moldovan Parliament ratified the CIS Free Trade Zone Treaty on Thursday.
The document was signed by the prime ministers of CIS member states at a meeting in St. Petersburg in October 2011, Moldovan Deputy Economy Minister Octavian Calmic said presenting the ratification bill in parliament, according to an Interfax correspondent.
The treaty allows CIS member countries to modernize their existing economic laws.
"It also means the creation of a free trade zone with CIS countries as earlier signed treaties, mostly bilateral, were compiled in the 1990s and fail to match today's realities," Calmic said.
The treaty exempts export-import operations from customs duties and lifts a number of technical barriers for economic relations and cargo movement.
The treaty also offers businesses an opportunity to settle their disputes within the World Trade Organization in accordance with the letter of the document, he said.
Russia, however, retains a number of exclusions from this document in its relations with other CIS member countries, he said.
The document was supported by 96 Moldovan parliamentarians in a rare show of solidarity from the opposition Communist Party, which usually refuses to vote together with the ruling majority.
The treaty comes into force 30 days after its ratification by parliament.