BALTIC FREE TRADE AREA IS LAUNCHED.

On January 1 the agreement on free agricultural trade among Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania went into effect. Signed last June, it eliminates all import and export tariffs and quotas on agricultural (and fishery) goods produced and traded within the three Baltic states. A safeguard clause allows for protection of national producers against excessive import volumes. An agreement on free inter-Baltic trade in manufactured goods has been in force since 1994. The two agreements add up to a Baltic free trade area. (BNS, January 2)

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