On September 29 at the State Chancellery Vladimer Gurgenidze met representatives of the US Government. Upon completion of the meeting the Prime Minister told to the press the details of the visit.
"This visit is very important, practical step to make the large American market more accessible for the Georgian products, business and businessmen. Noteworthy is that this issue was raised in a very short time. President Bush made public this initiative on September 3 and in less than one month the representative delegation of the US Government have arrived in Georgia and will work on the free trade matters together with the Georgian party. At present we have the possibility of tariff-free export for the products of 3400 categories, though the Georgian economy uses only a small part of it. In future we will discuss the extension of this list with such product as wine and other agricultural products, - stated Vladimer Gurgenidze.
The prime Minister spoke about those liabilities which are undertaken by the Georgian party. The main issue is the openness of the Georgian market that is not a conceptual problem as we have free trade with all countries. However, certain procedures shall be carried out yet.
"It is very important for us to understand that the Constitution of the USA is so arranged that the issue of trade is the prerogative of the Congress. The government only prepares the item which is then solved by the Congress. Noteworthy is that they are considering the matter from not only ratification aspect but from the aspect of content of the free trade agreement. Georgia anticipates this process. We will approach Europe in such way as well and will do all our best endeavors and use our time to make Georgian product maximum available for those two largest markets worldwide", - stated the Prime Minister.
Press Center of the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia