On Tuesday, Ambassador Kirk met with Kazakhstani First Deputy Prime Minister, Umirzak Shukeyev, and Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Zhanar Aitzhanova to discuss the status of bilateral market access negotiations and other issues related to Kazakhstan’s efforts to accede to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Ambassador Kirk’s meeting capped an intense round of negotiations with Kazakhstan on key issues for the U.S. such as intellectual property, agricultural trade, and services.
Ambassador Kirk and Kazakhstani First Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev
In addition to market access negotiations, Kazakhstan is working with the United States and other WTO Members to implement multilateral rules in areas such as sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, customs valuation, government procurement, and state-owned enterprises. USTR has pressed for improved access to this growing economy for U.S. exporters of goods and services, and has engaged with Kazakhstan to protect U.S. firms’ access to the large market represented by the new Customs Union between Kazakhstan and Russia and Belarus. In all World Trade Organization (WTO) accession talks, USTR leverages the negotiations to create export opportunities for American firms and workers here in the U.S. and ensure that new WTO Members fully implement WTO rules regarding open market access.
