Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend / Azerbaijan's entrance into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will improve the investment climate of the country for foreign capital, Leyla Abdullayeva, an expert of the Trend 's Analytical Center.
"Large foreign companies will take Azerbaijan more seriously as a WTO member-state, which applies major standards of international business, including the protection of patent rights and intellectual property," she noted. One of major requirements for Azerbaijan's entrance into WTO is the quality of the product in the country.
" Azerbaijan will develop local production to cover the demand of the domestic market and will create competitive export products, manufactured at international standards," she said.
WTO, which was founded in 1995, unites 148 countries, as well as 30 observer members-countries, including Azerbaijan since 1997.
To protect the host market in the process of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Government of Azerbaijan sent proposals to the WTO Secretariat regarding a maximum range of customs tariffs that will be applied to imported agricultural and industrial products. High tariffs have been offered for the sectors where problems are expected to arise in the future.
These may be applied within the period from 5 to 10 years after joining the WTO to protect internal investments and producers. The maximum tariffs for agricultural products have been suggested at the level of 50-80% and at an average of 23%. Unlike the agrarian sector, the tariffs for the industrial products are more liberal and the maximum customs tariffs are offered at a level of 30-50% and at an average of up to 15%.