The signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union allowed creating the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between the EU and Moldova. This facilitated the adoption of a number of laws that regulate foreign trade, competition, protection of industrial property rights, and the adjustment of the legislation to the international legal framework. Consequently, trade in goods and services was liberalized. The duties and technical and non-tariff barriers were diminished, Deputy Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Vitalie Iurcu stated in the international forum “Invest Gagauzia” that was held in Comrat on November 4, IPN reports.
Presenting the preferential conditions provided by the Free Economic Zones to the residents of the seven FEZes, including FEZ Vulcanesti with the subzones in Comrat and Ceadar-Lunga, Vitalie Iurcu said all the goods that are imported or exported from these zones are exempted from customs duties and excise duties and a zero Valued Added Tax is imposed on them. The income tax represents 50% of the rate set in Moldova, while the companies with investments of US$ 1 million are exempted from paying the income tax for three years and for five years if the investments total about US$ 5 million.
Moldova also signed Free Trade Agreements with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Turkey and these opened up new opportunities and prospects for the companies operating in Moldova. In 2007, the Republic of Moldova became a party to Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and this facilitates the liberalization of agricultural trade with the member states. Recently Moldova opened talks on a Free Trade Agreement with China. All these Free Trade Agreements offer the companies that operate in Moldova access to the markets of the EU, CEFTA and the CIS, which have about 900 million potential consumers.
Another industrial platform, the Industrial Park, enables to change free the purpose of farmland, to purchase state-owned land for erecting buildings on it at normative price, to allocate free public property for creating parks, to the discretion of the owner, and to reduce the annual rental by 70%. Vitalie Iurcu noted that these concessions provided to the business community will enable to create an attractive investment climate and to implement new competitive projects that would lead to higher investments, exports and imports and, consequently, to the creation of new jobs.
