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2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

4. Afghanistan’s Transit Regime

Author : Suhailah Akbari

Published in: The WTO Transit Regime for Landlocked Countries and its Impacts on Members’ Regional Transit Agreements

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Afghanistan’s transit regime combines national, regional, and multilateral rules and regulations. This chapter reviews Afghanistan’s national and international transit regime and provides a selective study of its international transit agreements. It particularly focuses on APTTA and the Chabahar Agreement, due to their role in facilitating Afghanistan’s access to the sea. Section 1 of the chapter reviews Afghanistan’s national transit and transport laws and regulations. Section 2 discusses international plurilateral transit agreements concluded between Afghanistan and neighboring countries within the framework of regional economic organizations. Section 3 provides a comparative study of APTTA and the Chabahar Agreement and compares the legal advantages of the both agreements for Afghanistan’s freedom of transit and access to the sea through an assessment of their legal provisions.

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previous chapter Current State of the Afghan Foreign Trade Legal Regime

next chapter WTO Rules on Freedom of Transit

Art. 3 (2) Qanuni-i Transport Jada’i Afghanistan (Afghanistan Road Transport Law) (1397) (2018).

Ibid., Art. 11.

Ibid., Arts. 21, 22.

Ibid., Art. 27.

Arts. 94, 95, 2016 Afghanistan Customs Law.

Ibid., Art. 95.

Ibid.

Afghanistan initially acceded to the TIR Convention in 1976 but due to domestic wars the system was not active.

See for example Art. 47 Afghanistan Road Transport Law; Arts. 41–50, 2016 Afghanistan Customs Law.

See ACCI Website, http://www.acci.org.af/da/services/tir.html.

Afghanistan National Trade Policy 2018–2023 (Ch. 3, note 9), 34.

See for example Art. 47 Afghanistan Road Transport Law; Arts. 41–50, 2016 Afghanistan Customs Law.

In-person Interview with authorities in ACCI (Kabul, Apr. 18 & 22, 2018). For countries that have issued TIR Carnets between 2001 and 2017 see ENECE, https://www.unece.org/filead min/DAM/tir/figures/TIRCarnets20012017.pdf. In this list, Afghanistan has issued only 50 TIR Carnet during 2013 and has not issued any TIR Carnet between 2014 and 2018.

Various media press covered the press conference concerning Implementation of the TIR procedures by Afghanistan and neighboring countries. See for example Ministry of Transport of Afghanistan, http://mot.gov.af/Content/files/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%85%20%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%B1.pdf; ACCI, http://www.acci.org.af/da/component/content/article/875-n.html.

Ibid.

See RECCA Website, http://recca.af/.

Chief of Staff’s Office of the President, Media Directorate, The Unity Government: Three years Achievements at a Glance (February 2018), 49, https://ocs.gov.af/uploads/documents_dr/17.pdf. For English version see http://afghanembassy.ca/dari/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/3YearsAchievements-EnglishSummary.pdf; see also MoF, RECCA VII, Towards Regional Economic Growth and Stability: The Silk Road through Afghanistan (2015).

See RECCA VII Declaration, Deepening Connectivity and Expanding Trade through Investment Infrastructure and Improving Synergy, Annex II (Ashgabat, Nov. 14–15, 2017).

Other CAREC corridors that connect these regions are: Corridor 1 connects East Asia and Europe, Corridor 2 connects East Asia and Mediterranean, Corridor 3 connects Russian Federation, Middle East and South Asia, Corridor 4 connects East Asia and Russian Federation, and Corridor 6 connects East Asia, South Asia and Europe. See for example CAREC Secretariat, CAREC Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring—Annual Report 2016 (January 2018), 2–5, 19–30; CAREC, CAREC Transport Corridors at Safely Connected: A Regional Road Safety Strategy for CAREC Countries 2017–2030 (2016), 3–4.

RECCA VII Declaration (note 18).

Ibid.; see also RECCA, Afghanistan–Centered Regional Cooperation: From Planning to Implementation (November 2018), 5–6.

Ibid., see also MoF, https://www.mfa.gov.af/index.php; TOLO News, President Ghani Inaugurates Lapis Lazuli Corridor (Dec. 13, 2018), https://www.tolonews.com/index.php/. For more information about the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, see RECCA documents, http://recca.af/?page_id=2080.

See for example ACCI, The Lapis Lazuli Corridors is Shortest, Cheapest and Safest Route for Afghanistan’s Transit Trade (Nov. 25, 2014), http://www.acci.org.af/archive/535-the-lapis-lazuli-corridor-is-shortest-cheapest-andsafest-route-for-afghanistans-transit-trade-.html.

TOLO News, Lapis Lazuli an Alternative to Pakistani Trade Routes (Dec. 30, 2018), https://www.tolonews.com/business/lapis-lazuli-alternative-pakistani-trade-routes.

Ibid.

See MoF Website, https://www.mfa.gov.af/index.php; see also Temmuz News, Inauguration of Afghanistan Cross–border Railway to Increase Trade with Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey (Nov. 28, 2016), http://www.trt.net.tr/persian/mntqh/2016/11/28/ftth-kht-rh-ahn-brwn-mrzy-fgnstn-b-hdf-tws-h-tjrt-badhrbyjn-trkhyh-trkhmnstn-w-grjstn-618960.

RECCA VII Declaration (note 18), sec. C, para. 4.

See for example RECCA, Afghanistan-Centered Regional Cooperation (note 21).

Ibid.; see also CASA–1000 Website, http://www.casa-1000.org/.

See Asian Development Bank [ADB], Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Natural Gas Pipeline Project, Phase 3, Completion Report, Project No. 44463-013 (March 2018).

RECCA, Afghanistan-Centered Regional Cooperation (note 21), 4–6.

See generally ECO Transit and Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA), (Almaty, 1998).

Ibid., Arts. 2, 28.

Ibid., Arts. 5, 10, 23.

Ibid., Arts. 15, 17.

Ibid., Arts. 28, 30.

Ibid., Arts. 16, 20.

Ibid., Art. 25.

Ibid., Art. 13.

Ibid., Arts. 38, 39.

See generally ECO, ECO Vision 2025 and Implementation Framework (February 2017).

Ibid., 4.

Ibid., 4, 9, 10.

In-person Interview with Akhlaqi (Ch.1, note 29); In-person Interview with Mir Saeed Sayeedy (Ch.3, note 9), (WTO Headquarter, Oct. 3 & 5, 2018); Telephone Interview with Mir Saeed Sayeedy (Dec. 12 &14, 2018).

Christine Fair, Iran, India, and a New Way Forward for Afghanistan, The Diplomat Magazine (Nov. 30, 2018), https://thediplomat.com/2018/11/iran-india-and-a-new-way-forward-for-afghanistan/.

See CAREC Website, https://www.carecprogram.org/?page_id=31; see also CAREC, An Institutional Framework for Facilitation Economic Cooperation in the Central Asia Region, https://www.carecprogram.org/uploads/CARECInstitutional-Framework-1.pdf.

The Agreement was signed between Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic in 2010. Afghanistan joined the Agreement a year later. See ADB, Afghanistan Joins Tajikistan Kyrgyz Republic Cross-Border Transport Accord (Aug. 29, 2011), https://www.adb.org/news/afghanistan-joins-tajikistan-kyrgyz-republic-cross-border-transportaccord.

See CAREC, Report of the Ninth Transport Sector Coordination Committee Meeting (Manila, Oct. 11–12, 2010), https://www.carecprogram.org/uploads/9th-TSCC-Meeting-Report.pdf; CAREC Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring, Annual Report 2016 (note 19), 2–5, 30; see also Asadov (2012), pp. 20–21.

See generally CAREC, Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA), (Manila, Nov. 5, 2010).

RECCA VII Declaration (note 18), 5.

See generally Lapis Lazuli Route Agreement.

Ibid., Art. 11.

Ibid., Art. 18.

See generally APTTA.

UN, Office on Drugs and Crime, Country Profile: Pakistan, https://www.unodc.org/pakistan/en/country-profile.html; see also Institute for the Study of War, Afghanistan and Pakistan, http://www.understandingwar.org/pakistan-and-afghanista.

There are discrepancies in exports market position of both countries to one another. Some reports rank Pakistan as the first largest exports market for Afghan exports and Afghanistan as the third largest exports market for Pakistani exports. Some other reports and literature rank Pakistan as the first largest exports market for Afghan exports and Afghanistan as the second largest exports market for Pakistani products. See for example PAJCCI, Pak Afghan Trade (2018), 2, http://www.pajcci.com/PressRelease/PressReleaseImage_107.pdf; see also Government of Pakistan, Development Authority of Pakistan, Country Report on Afghanistan: Executive Summary (2018), https://www.tdap.gov.pk/word/AFGHANISTAN.pdf; Hanif (2018), pp. 94–97.

See PAJCCI, Pak Afghan Trade (note 57), 1. According to this data by PAJCCI, Pakistani chemical export products are mainly soaps and acids. Mineral products are refined petroleum and cement. Machines are mainly refrigerators, washing machines and pumps. Foods also include sugar and chocolates.

See for example Government of Pakistan, Country Report on Afghanistan (note 57), 4; WB, Analysis of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (May 2014); The Pakistan Business Council, Afghanistan’s Transit Trade Patterns Pre and Post APTTA (June 2015), https://www.pbc.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/AfghanistansTransitTradePatternsPrePostAPTTA.pdf; see also https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/AFG/Year/2016/Summary.

See Government of Pakistan, Foreign Office Yearbook 2002–03 (Foreign Office of Pakistan, 2003), 11–13; Government of Pakistan, Foreign Office Yearbook 2005–06 (Foreign Office of Pakistan, 2006), 10–14; Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//external_trade/8_digitlevel/exp/5_exp_2008-09_to_2012-2013.pdf; PAJCCI, Draft Annual Report 2014 (2014), 28; see also Fair (2008), p. 216; Sultana (Ch.1, note 14).

See Government of Pakistan, Country Report on Afghanistan (note 57), Executive Summary.

Again, discrepancies exist in exports market positions of both the countries. According to Afghanistan National Trade Policy 2018–2023, 60 percent of Afghan products are exported to Pakistan and India. National Trade Policy 2018–2023, supra note 117, at 52; see also Mazhar, supra note 418, at Executive Summary.

See generally ATTA.

Prmb ATTA; Annex, sec I, para (1)(b).

Ibid.

See for example WB, Analysis of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (note 59), 3.

Ibid., see also Waqar Hussain (2008), pp. 1–8; Rizvi Shamim Ahmed, Pak–Afghan Trade, Pakistan Economist Weekly (Sept. 9–15, 2002); Sultana (Ch.1, note 14), 28–29.

See for example Country Profile: Pakistan, Afghanistan, 1998–1999 (London, The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd., 1999), 5–48.

Art. 54 & prmb APTTA.

Ibid., Art. 33. Article 33 provides also national treatment to traffic in transit of another contracting party with respect to all rules, laws, measures, charges, fees, and any other financial obligations.

Ibid., Arts. 30, 32.

Ibid., Art. 4.

Ibid., Arts. 7, 8. Annex 1 of the Agreement provides a list of all pre-settled entry-exit ports.

Ibid., Annex 1, Art. 3.

Ibid., footnote 2.

Art. 11(4) APTTA.

MoIC, Asnad wa Procejar hae zarori dar Chaokat APTTA [Required Documents and Procedures under APTTA], http://moci.gov.af/fa/page/8603/8604/8605.

Art. 28 APTTA.

Ibid., Arts. 16, 18; Art. 4 Protocol 1.

Art. 20 APTTA Protocol 3.

Ibid., Art. 10; Art. 21(4) APTTA.

Arts. 21, 23, 25 APTTA Protocol 3.

Arts. 27, 28, 52 APTTA.

Ibid., Arts. 27, 28.

Ibid., Art. 13.

Ibid.

Ibid., Arts. 10, 11.

Ibid., Art. 2; Art. 3 Protocol 1.

Art. 4 APTTA Protocol 2.

Ibid., Art.12.

Arts. 23, 24, 27 APTTA Protocol 1.

Ibid., Art. 30. APTTA provides some additional criteria for road transport operators. A road transport operator must represent sufficient financial means to guarantee the start and management of the road transport operation. Similarly, he/she should not be convicted for serious breach of laws, barred from exercising road carriage profession because of violation of road carriage regulations, or declared bankrupt. In addition, he/she must prove professional competency in the field of road transport carriage through proof of general education, passing specific exams, or practical experience. Protocol 1, arts 17, 18, 19.

Ibid., Art. 20.

Ibid., Art. 9.

Art. 3 APTTA Protocol 3.

Art. 14 APTTA Protocol 2.

Ibid., Art. 15.

Art. 13 APTTA Protocol 3.

100

Arts. 192, 14(2) APTTA Protocol 2.

101

Art. 19 APTTA.

102

Ibid., Art. 20.

103

Art. 9 APTTA Protocol 1.

104

Despite attempts made, the author was not able to conduct interview with Pakistani officials for their opinion on this issue. Due to security threats, the author was also not able to conduct interview with Pakistani vehicle drivers who pass through Afghanistan.

105

Tolo News, News (Jan. 19, 2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g-fnUakZ28 [From min 19:10 to min 21:57].

106

Arts. 34, 35 APTTA.

107

Ibid., Arts. 36, 37.

108

For example, at the 1st meeting of the APTTCA, Afghanistan stated that Pakistan unilaterally interpreted the requirements for transit security means for transit goods and vehicles, which was not acceptable to Afghanistan. Although both the countries discussed the issue, they did not reach an agreement. See Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA), Minutes of 1st Meeting (Islamabad. Feb. 11–12, 2011), 3.

109

For example, although, at the 2nd meeting of the APTTCA, the delegations again discussed the transit security and reached an agreement, they did not implement their decision. At the 2nd meeting, Pakistan agreed that instead of a transit security equivalent to full customs duties, it would accept from Afghanistan a transit security equivalent to 25% of customs duties. For transit goods security, both the countries agreed to accept insurance guarantee for the import duty value of transit goods and traders could submit to customs offices an insurance guarantee issued by any reputable insurance company. APTTCA, Minutes of 2nd Meeting (Kabul. May. 31–June 01, 2011), 3.

110

See APTTCA, Minutes of 4th Meeting (Kabul. Oct 8–9, 2013), 4; APTTCA, Minutes of 5th Meeting (Islamabad. Jan. 10, 2014), 4; see also Pakistan Customs news Portal, Transit Cargos to Move through Registered Carriers Only (Feb. 7, 2017), https://customnews.pk/2017/02/07/transit-cargo-to-move-through-registered-carriers-only/.

111

See generally APTTCA, Minutes of the 4th and the 5th Meetings (note 110).

112

For APTTCA’s minutes of meetings see PAJCCI, http://www.pajcci.com/Regulations.aspx.

113

In-person Interview with Akhlaqi (Ch.1, note 29). Interview with Omid Ghafori, Director, International Department, ACCI (Kabul, Apr. 18, 2018).

Arts. 39–48 APTTA.

Ibid., Art.41.

Ibid., Art.42.

Ibid., Art.43.

Ibid., Art.45.

Ibid., Art.39(3).

Ibid., Art.43.

Ibid., Art. 46(2).

Prmb Chabahar Agreement.

123

Ibid., Art. 15.

124

Ibid., Art. 12.

125

Ibid., Arts. 1(o), 2, 5(1), 3(1).

126

Article 8(1) of the Chabahar Agreement provides that “contracting parties shall take steps to standardize, simplify and harmonize customs rules and procedures governing movement of goods and passengers along international transit and transport corridors.”

Ibid., Art. 5(2).

Ibid., Art. 2(3).

Ibid., Art. 2(3).

Ibid., Art. 9.

Ibid., Arts. 9(1), (3), (4).

Ibid., Art. 10.

Ibid.

Ibid., Art. 11.

Radio Free Europe, U.S. Exempts Iran’s Chabahar Port from Sanctions in Nod to Afghanistan (Nov.7, 2018 ), https://www.rferl.org/a/us-exempts-iran-chabahar-port-project-from-sanction-in-nod-toafghanistan-india/29586874.html; see also Harsh V. Pant, The Chabahar Disconnect, Commentaries (Observer Research Foundation, July 19, 2019), https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-chabahar-disconnect-52964/.

Asadov S (2012) Tajikistan’s Transit Corridors and their Potential for Developing Regional Trade. Working Paper 6. University of Central Asia, Institute of Public Policy and Administration, pp 20–21

Fair C (2008) Pakistan’s relations with Central Asia: is past prologue? J Strat Stud 31(1):216

Hanif K (2018) Pakistan Afghanistan’s Economic relations after 9/11. J Punjab Univ Hist Soc 31:94–97

Waqar Hussain S (2008) The impact of Afghan transit trade on NWFP’s economy. Pan-Graphics Ltd., Peshawar, pp 1–8

Title: Afghanistan’s Transit Regime
Author: Suhailah Akbari
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: The WTO Transit Regime for Landlocked Countries and its Impacts on Members’ Regional Transit Agreements
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-73463-3

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-73464-0

Copyright Year: 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73464-0_4

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