Tariff and Regulatory Barriers for Freedom to Trade in the Eastern Partnership Countries

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify and compare the tariff and regulatory barriers for the freedom to trade in Eastern Partnership counties (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia). Free trade as a concept requires policy reforms toward the reduction of tariffs and for quantitative restrictions for efficacious trade liberalization. UNSTAD reports that, two factors dominantly influenced economic performance in the transition economies that are parts of the CIS countries: the economic integration with and dependence on Russia, the importance of commodities, and oil for the prosperity. Doing Business 2020 suggests that Belarus became a leader with regard to ease of cross-border trading. The country is ranked 24th among 190 economies for ease of trading across borders. A few years before Georgia was a leading country in terms of cross-border trading, but now this country lags behind Belarus, Moldova, and Armenia. Cross-border trading with Azerbaijan and Ukraine is much more difficult. Both countries have longer and more costly procedures with more documentation required than other Eastern Partnership countries.

Keywords

• export diversification
• free trade
• cross-border trading
• eastern partnership
• non-oil sector