BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 3
By Ilkin Seyfaddini – Trend:
The Uzbek government is holding talks with the US government to remove the country from the Jackson–Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974, as well as to provide additional preferences for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Trend reports citing the press service of Uzbek Foreign Ministry.
These issues were discussed during a video conference attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and representatives of the US Ministry of Trade, the US State Department, the Office of the Trade Representative, the US-Uzbek Chamber of Commerce and its member-companies Valmont, Procter & Gamble, CNH Industrial, ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola and General Motors, the message said.
"In this regard, issues of interaction with the American side were discussed within the framework of the fourth meeting of the Working Group on Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO, giving the republic the status of a developing economy with the aim of obtaining preferences in negotiations with WTO member countries, as well as removing Uzbekistan from the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which also contradicts WTO fundamental rules to ensure the 'most favored nation' treatment in trade," the message says.
According to the Jackson-Vanik amendment, most favored nation (MFN) treatment can be extended only to non-market economies whose emigration regime is liberal. The United States imposes sanctions against violators, mainly relating to the restriction of the admission of goods produced in this country to the American market.
The US trade relations with a number of former Soviet countries remain formally subject to the amendment.
Earlier it was reported that the foreign trade turnover of Uzbekistan and the US increased by 43.7 percent to $596.2 million in 2019, including Uzbek imports - by 49.9 percent to $567.1 million, while the exports decreased by 20.9 percent to $29.1 million.
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