Round tables are held with representatives of the furniture and paper industries in order to discuss scenarios for further liberalization of foreign trade

The two online round tables were held on March 18, 2022 to discuss the findings and recommendations made in the “Analysis of existing tariff protection and impact of possible tariff liberalisation to the furniture and paper industries”, a study produced by a team of experts under the EU-funded "Strengthening capacity of the Government of Azerbaijan in the WTO Accession negotiations and other trade related activities" project. 15-20 private sector representatives joined the online events.

The purpose of both round tables was to present the current situation with WTO accession, proposals and questions from WTO member states, current tariff policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the field of furniture / paper industries and possible scenarios for further liberalization of foreign trade in both cases.

Representatives of the domestic furniture and paper industries shared their thoughts about challenges and development opportunities of both industries and raised their proposals to representatives of the Ministry of Economy and EU project experts. In particular, the head of a packaging association expressed his gratitude to the project and stated that the association was developing certain liberalization proposals for the Ministry of Economy. It was agreed that the project will review these proposals in light of the liberalisation scenarios contemplated in the project’s study.