WORLD TRADE WT/REG45/N/1
13November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4973)
Original: English Committee onRegional Trade Agreements
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
AND THE REPUBLIC OFLATVIA
Communication from theCzech Republic
Thefollowing communication, dated 23October 1997, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission oftheCzech Republic withtherequest thatitbedistributed toWTO Members.
_________________
Thedelegation oftheCzech Republic hasthehonour totransmit herewith, inaccordance with
Article XXIV:7(a) oftheGeneral Agreement, thetextofaFreeTrade Agreement between theCzech
Republic andtheRepublic ofLatvia withtheannexes andprotocols which formanintegral partthereof.1
TheFreeTrade Agreement wassigned on15April 1996, wasapplied provisionally since
1July1996 andentered intoforce on1September 1997.
TheAgreement aimsattheprogressive establishment ofafree-trade areabetween theParties
inthesense ofArticle XXIV oftheGeneral Agreement. Thefree-trade areawasestablished onthe
dateofitsentry intoforce, when duties andother restrictive regulations ofcommerce wereabolished
onsubstantially allthetrade between thesignatories.
TheFreeTrade Agreement between theCzech Republic andtheRepublic ofLatvia alsocontains
provisions dealing with, interalia,stateaid,competition, public procurement andintellectual property
rights. Anevolutionary clause offers thepossibility ofextending theAgreement toareas notcovered
byit.
1ThetextoftheAgreement iscirculated indocument WT/REG45/1.