Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan applied for membership in the WTO in April 1996 (WT/ACC/KAZ/1) and circulated its Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime in September 1996 (WT/ACC/KAZ/3).  Kazakhstan's Working Party met for the first time in March 1997.  At the most recent meeting of the Working Party, held in July 2008, Members reviewed the revised draft Working Party report and identified remaining issues relating to Kazakhstan's compliance with WTO provisions.  Kazakhstan outlined its legislative agenda to complete implementation of WTO provisions and indicated that it was prepared to address the outstanding issues that Members identified and move forward to make commitments.

These multilateral negotiations are well advanced, as is Kazakhstan's legislative implementation of WTO provisions.  The next Working Party meeting, expected no later than early fall 2009, will identify remaining issues, note any areas where additional commitments or other action are necessary, and call for Kazakhstan to provide copies of remaining legislation intended to implement its commitments.

The United States actively participates in Kazakhstan's Working Party meetings, and has engaged in bilateral consultations on WTO rules and other WP issues with the Government of Kazakhstan.  There will be additional bilateral discussions on multilateral issues prior to the next meeting of the Working Party.

Kazakhstan has accelerated work on its bilateral negotiations with Members on market access for goods and services, and has signed bilateral market access agreements with most Working Party Members.  It is intensifying bilateral work to conclude market access agreements with the remaining Working Party Members seeking agreements, including with the United States.  The most recent U.S. bilateral market access consultations with Kazakhstan occurred in April 2009 by digital video conference (DVC).  Topics covered over the four days included market access for services, sanitary measures applied to imports, legislation on intellectual property protection, and a plan for further negotiations.

The United States has provided comprehensive technical assistance (through USAID) from the very inception of Kazakhstan's accession process, in the form of a WTO advisor, resident in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, and a team of WTO experts on short term assignment for drafting documentation submitted to the WTO, training, legal drafting, and institution building in the areas of customs, licensing, intellectual property, standards and sanitary measures.