BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
One of the main goals for the Uzbek government is to expand its cotton exports, Consultant of Carnegie Moscow Center, Temur Umarov told Trend in an interview.
"Since 1996 the course of Uzbekistan’s economy was radically shifted towards intensification of state intervention and an import substitution became the main instrument of the growth. To accelerate industrial development, the state implemented the limitation of imports by tariff and non-tariff barriers," said Umarov.
According to him, in the period from 2017 through 2018 the government of Uzbekistan introduced measures such as free currency conversion, removed most of the administrative barriers, and reduced customs charges.
"Joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will inevitably lead to the reduction of many tariff and non-tariff barriers to imports, the same but in much lesser amount will happen after joining the EAEU. Cancelling the Jackson-Vanik amendment will open new opportunities for Uzbek agribusiness, however, in terms of trade, the biggest obstacle for Uzbek export is still the Cotton Campaign coalition’s boycott," Umarov noted.
As he said, the government of Uzbekistan will work closely with human rights organizations to see its main export product on the shelves of the Western markets which might bring another $1 billion to the budget.
According to the Jackson–Vanik amendment to the US Trade Act of 1974, 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 Carnegie Moscow Center is a thinktank and research center that focuses on domestic and foreign policy, international relations, international security, and the economy. It is a regional affiliate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and a nonprofit organization.
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