ABSTRACT

Tajikistan was part of the Great Silk Road, a system of caravan routes connecting Eurasian countries between the second century BC and the fifteenth century AD. The development of trade throughout Central Asia encouraged the people of this region to adapt to the demands and requirements of consumers thousands of kilometres away, both in western Europe and in China. Tajikistan's principal rationale for seeking WTO membership was to gain access to new markets and secure the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/WTO right of freedom of transit, reinserting Tajikistan into trading routes, comparable to its location in the historic Great Silk Road system. By becoming a member of the WTO in 2013, Tajikistan is opening up new markets for its goods, just as it did several centuries ago. Tajikistan sought WTO membership to sustain domestic reforms. Domestic reforms entailed enactment, repeal and/or amendment of approximately one hundred laws and regulations. In the experience of Tajikistan, successful negotiating factors included, inter alia, a technically competent negotiation team, support from WTO members, strategically defined negotiating objectives, accompanied by a strategy for cooperation. Post-accession considerations should be part of an accession strategy. This chapter outlines Tajikistan's road to the WTO.

Territorial restrictions, lack of access to the seas, remoteness and isolation from world markets, and consequent high transit and transport costs remain an essential barrier to the social and economic development of Tajikistan. Countries without access to the sea are usually among the poorest countries of the world, with a low level of development. Sixteen out of thirty landlocked countries are least-developed countries (LDCs).

The high costs of transporting goods which landlocked countries must cover are much more significant barriers to trade than import tariffs applicable to such goods entering their markets. Emerging economies and landlocked countries pay three times more in transport costs than in applicable import tariffs. According to research conducted by Venables and Limão (2001), expenses for 1,000 kilometres of shipping by sea reach about US$190, while the same distance by land would cost US$1,380, which is 7.3 times higher than the cost of transportation by sea.

The political situation in the south, civil war in the recent past and complex relations with neighbouring countries are additional factors directly affecting the development of the country.