Key challenges that the project helps to address

Uzbekistan applied to become a member of the WTO in 1994, but the process was halted in 2005 because the government at the time opted to pursue a policy of self-sufficiency. The process resumed in 2018 as part of a broad package of socio-economic reforms and transformation, led by President Mirziyoyev, to liberalize the economy and modernize the domestic trade regime. The liberalization process requires Uzbekistan to carry out a number of economic/trade-related reforms that will impact all sectors in line with WTO agreements and with the commitments that Uzbekistan will ultimately have negotiated with the WTO members. It also requires Uzbekistan to conduct multi-track trade negotiations with WTO members in the context of which Uzbekistan is to balance out the requests received from WTO members with its development objectives.   

Key activities

• Technical advisory support informing the drafting of documentation and formulation of negotiating positions;
• Technical advisory support informing the development of new national laws and where needed aligning existing laws/regulations with WTO rules and standards;
• Building the capacity of policymakers/regulators/lawmakers/implementing agencies to understand the WTO rules and procedures;
• Strengthening institutional capacity to ensure the country can apply technical regulations and animal and plant health requirements as set out in the WTO Agreements on TBT and SPS; 
• Raising the awareness of the private sector, including women’s associations, about the benefits of reforming the business environment.   

Expected results

Through a multi-faceted approach, the project strives to accelerate the process of Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO and contribute to the introduction of market-based reforms and further integration of Uzbekistan into the global economy.

Achievements

• Uzbekistan was able to accelerate and intensify the accession negotiations at the WTO through turnkey assistance on accession documentation and formulation of the negotiating positions: since 2020, four rounds of multilateral negotiations (WPMs) were held by Uzbekistan at the WTO and bilateral negotiations on market access in goods were finalized with nine WTO Members.
• National laws on intellectual property rights and technical regulations were aligned with the WTO requirements, and new legislations on food safety and trade remedies were prepared for passing through a legislative reform process. Other regulations such as on subsidies, TRIMS, SEZ were reviewed.
• The understanding of more than 1,000 government officials, including 250 women, about the WTO rules and procedures as well as the accession agenda was enhanced through over seventy specialized workshops, seminars, and experience-sharing events.

A Tashkent-based university was strengthened by introducing a WTO Law module which was embedded in a dedicated curriculum, thus, paving the way to educate the next generation of trade policymakers thereby also bolstering Uzbekistan’s long-term trade policy formulation/implementation capacity. In 2023, thirty UWED students completed the WTO Law course.