Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Economics of fascism wikipedia , lookup
Post–World War II economic expansion wikipedia , lookup
Transformation in economics wikipedia , lookup
Protectionism wikipedia , lookup
Economy of Italy under fascism wikipedia , lookup
American School (economics) wikipedia , lookup
Kyrgyz Republic The World Bank Private Sector Development Capacity Building Project TERMS OF REFERENCE Project: Private Sector Development Capacity Building IDF Project Implementing Entity: Ministry of Economy Position: Expert on supporting Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic on the issues related to Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) I. BACKGROUND The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (GoK) has made it a top priority to develop a private sector development strategy, as well as the action plans for its implementation, the monitoring and evaluation frameworks needed to oversee its development and impact, and a strategy for the preparation and coordination of all work components. Under a World Bank Grant, the Ministry of Economy (MoE) will take measures that would lead to: (a) strengthening coordination and communication amongst government agencies, the private sector and donors; (b) designing a private sector development (PSD) strategy and action plans; and (c) enhancing its policy implementation supervision capacity. To build the needed capacity, the grant will rely on the provision of significant training, including training staff on how to train others, and provision of TA to MoE staff, enabling the latter to independently undertake similar analyses and provide technical advice and input to the GoK based on the knowledge and capacity to be acquired. As part of the envisioned Capacity Building Programme, the MoE will hire an international and a local consultant to guide and support the Government’s staff in designing and implementing a communication plan for the PSD strategy and related action plans, in the process of both design and implementation. This Terms of Reference (TORs) defines the activities for a local communication consultant (the Consultant). II. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT Kyrgyzstan became a member to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which requires policy making on renegotiation of Kyrgyzstan’s commitment with regard to the WTO rules. On May 29, 2014, the Presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed an agreement in Astana for establishing the Eurasian Economic Union and free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce and pursuing coordinated policies in key sectors of economy, such as energy, industry, agriculture and transport. The agreement sets forth the principles of coordinated macro-economic and foreign exchange policies, financial market regulation, interaction in the energy and transport sectors, development of a common gas, oil, petroleum product, medicines and medical equipment market. Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Kazakhstan (recent member) as a WTO member-countries must follow certain WTO procedures when establishing or joining the EEU. It is extremely important that any external trade legislation is amended by the KR Government in compliance with the WTO standards. This will help the Government to avoid negative implications such as potential sanctions, compensation demands and retaliation measures from the WTO member-countries. Every five years WTO member-countries undergo trade policy reviews and submit reports on the foreign trade regime and implementation of its WTO commitments. Next report shall be presented by Kyrgyzstan to the relevant WTO committee in 2017. In this regard it is crucial for Kyrgyzstan’s policy makers to ensure compliance with the country’s WTO commitments. This could allow Kyrgyz Republic The World Bank Private Sector Development Capacity Building Project Kyrgyzstan’s economy avoid negative impacts in trade, which may possibly be a subject for a dispute settlement process under the WTO. The Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic is the main government institution responsible for negotiations with the WTO. However, due to the complexity of renegotiation processes in the with the WTO countries that are the holders of Kyrgyzstan’s Initial Negotiating Rights (INR) or having principal supplying interest, the there is a need to provide expert support and guidance to the Government agencies to help it make decisions on the WTO issues in light of the country’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union. INRs is being used as a useful tactical tool in bilateral negotiations about tariffs, which take place after submitting the application to the WTO Secretariat. INRs are dominated by major players in the WTO such as Canada, Australia, the EU, the United States, Japan and New Zealand. And to a lesser extent, they are dominated by India, Turkey and Brazil. In this sense, and considering this situation, the bilateral negotiations about tariff will inevitably involve many parties. This would make it difficult to reach an agreement through this “bilateral-turned plurilateral” negotiation. According to WTO documents, recent acceded countries (particularly small countries) mostly conferred considerable INRs to other WTO members. In regard of Kyrgyzstan, its table of concession reveals a high rate of INRs, where the largest share of them are attributed to the EU, followed by the US and Japan respectively. For most tariff lines that Kyrgyzstan conferred INRs on them, INRs were attributed to these three countries. III. SCOPE OF SERVICES A consultant will provide expert consultative support to the Ministry of Economy and the Government agencies on WTO related aspects at this early stage of Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the EEU under the provisions of the Article XXIV: Territorial Application - Frontier Traffic - Customs Unions and Free-trade Areas and develop policy recommendations to the Prime-minister on the WTO process and related EEU provisions, while understanding that regional agreements leading to a formation of a customs union, the duties and other regulations of commerce imposed shall not on the whole be higher or more restrictive than the general incidence of the duties and regulations of commerce applicable in the constituent territories prior to the formation of such union or the adoption of such interim agreement. Donor partner or institution is hiring a local consultant to provide expert support to the Government to help it comply with the WTO requirements while negotiating with EEU and rightly handle the process of notifications to the WTO’s Secretariat regarding the accession and post accession process to the EEU by the Kyrgyz Republic. A consultant will perform the following specific tasks: develop recommendations under the WTO rules provisions of the Article XXIV: Territorial Application - Frontier Traffic - Customs Unions and Free-trade Areas; conduct consultations with the relevant ministries and agencies and develop recommendations on negotiations at the WTO Council for Trade on Goods and Services; conduct consultations with the Working Group of the Kyrgyz Republic on negotiations with the WTO and develop recommendations to the Prime Minister on the process of notifications to the WTO; develop guidelines to the Government agencies on notifications to the WTO and recommendations on hearings of the Government agencies on notifications to WTO on related amendments of legislation in foreign trade policy; closely work with the relevant government institutions to assess the current status of Kyrgyzstan's WTO obligations due to the accession process to the EEU; Kyrgyz Republic The World Bank Private Sector Development Capacity Building Project IV. Review and analyze the EEU vs WTO requirements for the services sector and develop recommendations on possible impacts of Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the EEU; Identify service sector where exceptions from MFN will be needed in Kyrgyzstan’s WTO Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services; Conduct consultations, based on its mandate confirmed by the Ministry of Economy, with the EEU, and WTO Secretariat in order to prepare the review process on Kyrgyzstan's case in light of its accession to the EEU; Communicate with the Secretariat of the WTO and the Council for trade and services to develop the recommendations to the Government and its agencies for trade policy measures; Coordinate with Kazakhstan Ministry of Economic Integration in its effort of addressing similar issues faced as result of its membership in the EEE; and Conduct a round table discussion with the representatives of the relevant ministries and agencies and the Government agencies to present the recommendations on negotiation process with the WTO members. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED Advanced degree, preferably PhD level, in Economics, Public Policy, or related disciplines 10 scores; At least 3 years of relevant work experience, including knowledge of determination of tariff policy for customs – 20 scores; Strong knowledge of the regulations of WTO – 30 scores; Knowledge and experience on WTO, especially related to business environment issues and regulatory economics – 20 scores; Knowledge of issues related to economics and economic policy in the Kyrgyz Republic, the regulatory environment in the Kyrgyz Republic – 10 scores; Analytical and quantitative skills, including training in econometrics, statistics, and microeconomic theory - 10 scores; V. ASSIGNMENT DURATION The work outlined above will be undertaken during the period of September 15, 2015 to January 15, 2016. The consultant will be expected to be based days in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for the duration of his assignment. VI. REPORTING The Consultant’s work will be coordinated through the Ministry of economy and the donor partner which will identify a contact person for the purposes of communication with the relevant ministries and agencies during the implementation of the project. Ministry of economy will provide facilities (conference rooms), whenever needed, for conducting meetings and discussion during the project implementation. Kyrgyz Republic The World Bank Private Sector Development Capacity Building Project