Updates

Trade Portal in Uzbekistan to facilitate international trade

14 diciembre 2022
ITC News

New EU-funded platform Uzbekistan Trade Info provides businesses with step-by-step information on cross-border trade procedures in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan Trade Info is a new step-by-step trade information platform that helps businesses save time and reduce costs related to international trade.

Jointly developed with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade and the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan under the International Trade Centre’s EU-funded Ready4Trade Central Asia project, the portal ensures the transparency of cross-border trade formalities.

The initiative marks an important milestone in strengthening the Uzbek business environment by closing the information gap for businesses who want to master the import-export supply chain.

At the official launch in Tashkent, Elena Boutrimova, Chief of the Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the International Trade Centre (ITC), said: “Uzbekistan Trade Info is a vehicle for more inclusive economic growth. By providing access to information on trade formalities, the platform gives MSMEs an opportunity to access new markets, connect with the rest of the world, generate employment, and contribute to prosperity.”

The platform is also an important step for Uzbekistan in the context of the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as it implements one of the key transparency requirements of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

Furthermore, the detailed information on trade procedures mapped on the platform enables policymakers and the private sector to engage in evidence-based discussions that help design trade facilitation reforms with impact. These reforms will then allow for simpler, faster, and digitalized trade.

 

Forty-seven product groups with more to come


The platform provides a detailed description of import, export and transit formalities, including required documents, forms, applicable regulations and procedures. Currently, the platform covers 47 product groups. To ensure the continuous update and upgrade of the platform, the project empowers the national team, led by the Ministry, to administer the platform based on international best practices.

"With this new tool, we provide full transparency on cross-border regulatory requirements and, thus, help businesses in complying with them,” said Badriddin Abidov, Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan. “The Ministry will work closely and tirelessly with its partners to expand the coverage of this platform to new products in the next years.”

 

Strengthening regional trade integration


Similar trade info portals are already functional in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, with one soon to be completed and launched in Turkmenistan. These portals fortify trade integration in Central Asian countries and serve as an essential mechanism for regional dialogue for optimizing trade costs, reducing delays at borders, and thus increasing the competitiveness of Central Asian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and their access to international markets.

The tool, used in 30+ countries, was developed in collaboration with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

 

About the project

Ready4Trade Central Asia is a four-year EU-funded project implemented by the International Trade Centre in close collaboration with national partners, designed to contribute to the overall sustainable and inclusive economic development of Central Asia by boosting intra-regional and international trade in the countries of the region. Beneficiaries of the Ready4Trade Central Asia project include governments, small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular women-led enterprises, and business support organizations.