On May 14, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the current status of Uzbekistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization and the measures being taken to accelerate the process.

This process has been under the President’s direct oversight since 2023. During this period, Uzbekistan achieved tangible results in multilateral and bilateral negotiations.

Specifically, four meetings of the Working Group have been held, during which more than 500 issues were discussed. Systemic reforms are being implemented across various sectors to intensify the process.

As part of the bilateral track, negotiations have been held with 33 countries on market access, of which talks with 24 countries have already been successfully concluded.

WTO members have positively assessed Uzbekistan’s new approach and the outcomes of its reforms, confirming the country’s firm commitment to openness, transparency, and fair trade.

Uzbekistan is undertaking extensive legal and institutional reforms to align national legislation with WTO requirements. Specifically, 13 laws, 10 presidential decrees and resolutions, 19 Cabinet of Ministers resolutions, and 10 interagency regulatory acts have been adopted.

Procedures related to customs regulation, export-import operations, and intellectual property have been gradually harmonized. Exclusive rights previously held by six state-affiliated enterprises have been revoked.

At the meeting, the President instructed to accelerate and systematically organize the country’s accession process to the WTO.

Specifically, by the end of the current year, it is necessary to complete bilateral negotiations with the remaining nine countries, hold two additional meetings of the Working Group, and finalize the draft of the Working Group’s final report, thereby formalizing Uzbekistan’s international commitments under the WTO framework.

It was also emphasized that adopting around 15 regulatory acts must be expedited. This includes drafting new versions of the laws “On the quality and safety of food products” and “On safeguard measures, anti-dumping and countervailing duties”, in close and effective cooperation with the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis.

Particular importance was placed on advancing reforms in technical regulation and the sanitary, phytosanitary, and veterinary sectors, along with improving the quality of personnel training in these areas.

UzA