Republic of Moldova (the)

<p>The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is a regional free trade agreement, currently comprising Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, and Republic of Serbia. Over the last years, CEFTA has been able to remove most intra-regional tariff barriers for goods. With the adoption of CEFTA Additional Protocol 5 (AP5) on trade facilitation and the conclusion of negotiations of CEFTA Additional Protocol 6 (AP6) on trade in services, the region has at its disposal instruments for a further deepening of regional economic integration and alignment with the EU acquis. However, the operationalisation and implementation of reforms agreed at the regional level remains a challenge. This Action will therefore support CEFTA Parties with the cooperation of the CEFTA Secretariat in implementing its regional agenda on the facilitation of trade in goods and services.&nbsp;</p><p>ITC will primarily contribute to:</p><ol><li>Enhance the ability of those invovled in the operationalization of AP 6 (i.e. build the capacity of the recently appointed CEFTA Contact Points for Services; foster Intra-governmental cooperation among relevant agencies; and facilitate linkages between policy makers and private sector); and,</li><li>Provide advisory support to all CEFTA parties with a view to improving compliance of domestic regulations and procedures with AP6.</li></ol>

<p>The Eastern Area Partnership (EaP) Helpdesk will provide economic operators, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), trade and investment support institutions (TISIs) and policy makers in EaP countries with an interactive online platform that offers access to trade information (e.g. tariffs, non-tariff measures, taxes, trade statistics, trade procedures and company data) necessary to do business in the region and with the European Union (EU). An online feedback mechanism will allow companies to report on difficulties they face in international trade. Surveys of trade barriers in each country will enable an increased understanding of the regulatory and procedural obstacles that companies face and help policy makers to identify options to reduce trade costs. Training on the analysis of the information available via the Helpdesk will allow SMEs and TISIs to identify export opportunities and the capacity of institutions to collect and process services data for selected sectors will be strengthened.</p>

<p>The project aims to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries integrate into global value chains and access new markets with a focus on the European Union (EU). The intervention will assist SMEs in producing value-added goods in accordance with international and EU market requirements; while linking them with buyers from global value chains and markets, in particular within the EU. As part of this process, the assistance will improve sector specific services to SMEs along the selected value chains by strengthening the capacity of local business support organisations (BSOs). The two main project focus sectors are agro-processing, and textile and clothing. &nbsp;</p>