Small business leaders at a workshop on Uzbekistan’s WTO accession in Tashkent.
Updates

Why join WTO? Uzbekistan businesses find out

30 septembre 2022
ITC News

Uzbekistan is on the road to joining the WTO, and companies are ready to learn what that would bring. ITC held workshops across the country to explain what they stand to gain.

As Uzbekistan progresses towards becoming a full member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the country’s businesses face a world of new opportunities by integrating into the global economy.

Many businesses want to learn what that means in practical terms, and how they should prepare for a new era of international trade.

To demystify the WTO, the International Trade Centre (ITC) held workshops across the country from July through September, laying out where Uzbekistan is in the accession process and explaining how businesses stand to gain from the new trading rules.

Small business leaders at a workshop on Uzbekistan’s WTO accession in Tashkent.
Small business leaders attend the workshop on Uzbekistan’s WTO accession in Tashkent.
ITC

Among the key benefits, Uzbek businesses will have better access to global supply chains, giving them a stable basis for offering services and products to customers outside of the country.
 

WTO benefits explained

WTO membership levels the playing field for businesses, by requiring transparent government policies and preventing members from imposing arbitrary trade barriers on one another.

With greater market access and predictable prices, the business environment can grow.

Stability and predictability also encourages foreign direct investment, giving a further boost to the home market.

Funded by the EU, the workshops kicked off in Khiva, with further sessions held in Samarkand, Navoi, Bukhara, Fergana, Andijan, Namangan, Syrdarya, Tashkent, Surkhandarya, and Karakalpakstan.

The workshops focused on explaining how the WTO works, particularly the process of becoming a member The process of accession was fleshed out and the benefits and challenges stemming from membership explained. The private sector role in the process of accession is set out against this backdrop.

 

About the project

The ITC is the implementing partner of the European Union’s Facilitating the process of Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO project. The five-year initiative seeks to support Uzbekistan's development plans to modernize its economy by leveraging its WTO accession process. The overarching objective of the project is to contribute to the country’s economic development.