President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on the work carried out in 2025 towards Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the tasks for 2026 to accelerate the process.
At the meeting on May 6, it was noted that significant results were achieved in multilateral and bilateral negotiations over the past year. Two working group meetings were held, providing WTO members with answers to over 200 questions and more than 30 documents on foreign trade.
Over 40 rounds of bilateral negotiations were conducted. Negotiations with 11 countries were completed, bringing the total number of such countries to 33.
WTO members positively noted the active reforms in Uzbekistan related to the transition to a market economy. Last year, 68 legislative acts were aligned with WTO norms and international standards.
As part of harmonization with WTO rules, registration processes for intellectual property objects were simplified, liability for violations was strengthened, export restrictions were lifted, export duties with a transparent mechanism were introduced, and the practice of setting minimum export prices for certain goods was discontinued.
To reduce technical barriers to trade, certification replaced the bureaucratic procedure of mandatory state registration for high-risk goods. Food safety control was transferred to the Committee for Sanitary-Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health, 14 technical regulations on food products were abolished, mandatory certification requirements for 747 product items were removed, and their list was reduced by 27%.
The presentation also reviewed the adoption of new laws on food safety and trade protection measures, and the introduction of risk analysis, monitoring, and scientific justification procedures in sanitary, veterinary, and quarantine fields.
The head of state gave instructions for the quality implementation of a set of measures to formalize Uzbekistan's full WTO membership this year.
Measures were identified to systematically continue bringing legislation in the field of foreign economic activity into full compliance with WTO rules and international trade standards, completing bilateral and multilateral negotiations on WTO accession, and formalizing membership.
Source: kun.uz