RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.7
14October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4234)
Original: English
ACCESSION OFALBANIA
Additional Questions andReplies
Addendum
Thefollowing additional questions andreplies totheMemorandum ontheForeign Trade
Régime (document L/7613) havebeenreceived from theMinistry ofIndustry, Transport andTrade
oftheRepublic ofAlbania.
_______________
QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE MEMORANDUM (L/7613)
State-trading enterprises (p.20)
Question 1
TheMemorandum states thatallState foreign trading enterprises (SFTEs) should have been
privatized inearly 1995. What isthepresent situation? HastheLawonState Enterprises been
amended since 1991, when allenterprises inAlbania, bothprivate andState-owned, were given
theright toimport orexport freely without having togothrough SFTEs?
Answer.
Aswehaveexplained inAnnex 6(Information onStateTrading), inAlbania therearenoState
Trading Enterprises aspertheWTO definition. TheForeign Trade Enterprises inwhich theState
maintains aparticipation donothaveanyspecial rights orprivileges regarding theimports orexports.
Indeed thegreat majority ofimports andexports arehandled bytheprivate sector. During thefirst
sixmonths of1996, imports amounted toUS$434.4 million, outofwhich theprivate sector imported
US$331.7 million or78percentoftotalimports andtheStatesector imported US$72.4million or
17percent. Even inthis17percentimported bytheState sector, onlyasmall partwasimported
byForeign Trade Enterprises (lessthan2percent), while theremainder wasimported byother State
enterprises fortheirownuseandnotfortrading.
TheLawonState Enterprises from 1991 hasbeenamended. Themain change hasbeento
provide forthetransformation ofState enterprises intocommercial orshareholding companies and
thentobeprivatized. Therightofallenterprises, public orprivate, tofreely import orexport without
passing through State foreign trade enterprises, hasnotbeenchanged.
./.WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.7
Page2
Foreign Investment Policy (p.27)
Question 2
Could youspecify thesectors inwhich foreign investment requires acase-by-case approval and
those inwhich investment doesnotrequire anyprior government authorization? Does Albania
apply anyrestrictions (e.g.intheform ofpercentage-limitations) onforeign investments? Ifyes,
inwhich sectors?
Does Albania apply anylimitations onforeign equity participation (minimum ormaximum limit)
inthecaseofjoint ventures?
Answer.
There isnocase-by-case approval forforeign investments inAlbania. Theapproval for
investment bytheGovernment islimited toanarrow fieldofinvestment activities, forexample, research
forgasandoil.
Albania doesnotapply sectoral restrictions onforeign investment, forexample, intheform
ofpercentage-limitations. Asforinvestment inaparticular enterprise other thanthesectors which
areaState monopoly, investment aredetermined andreflected byparties inagreements orcontracts
between them. Albania doesnotapply anylimitation intheparticipation offoreign capital injoint-
ventures enterprises. Parties freely agree ontheparticipation incapital. Fornow, there areno
limitations ofthiskind.
FreeZones (p.35)
Question 3
Thepossibility ofcreating oneormore free-trade zones hasbeen under study since early 1995.
What isthecurrent status ofthisproject? Arethere anyfreezones inexistence atpresent, and
ifso,inwhich region?
Answer.
ADecision oftheGovernment in1996provides fortheestablishment andorganization ofthe
National Entity fortheDevelopment ofFreeZones which willhaveadirect dependence from the
Government. Thisentity willhavetheresponsibility todetermine freezones inAlbania. Nofree
zones haveyetbeenestablished.