Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan is continuing work on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). The current status of the accession negotiations and ongoing economic reforms were discussed by Uzbekistan’s Presidential Representative for WTO Affairs and Chairman of the Committee for Food Safety Azizbek Urunov and WTO Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam.
The sides reviewed the main areas of the negotiations and further steps to agree on Uzbekistan’s commitments as part of the accession process.
Following the 13th meeting of the WTO Working Party, Uzbekistan received more than 150 written questions. To date, nine items in the commitments section of the draft Working Party report have been agreed. In addition, bilateral negotiations with 33 WTO members have been completed.
Particular attention was paid to domestic support for agriculture. The Uzbek side presented its position on applying the de minimis level provided for developing countries.
The meeting participants also discussed preparing the text of commitments on state-owned enterprises, pricing policy, subsidies, investment measures and exclusive rights.
As part of legislative reforms, Uzbekistan presented information on the establishment of the Committee for Food Safety in May this year. The sides also reviewed efforts to bring national requirements into line with international standards of the Codex Alimentarius, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).
The continuation of the negotiations is aimed at resolving the remaining issues and completing the necessary procedures for Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO.
