Nearly 10 years after launching one of the most ambitious economic reform programs in the post-Soviet space, Uzbekistan stands at another crossroads. Having largely dismantled the inward-looking economic model inherited from the early years of independence, the country is nearing the final stage of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) while facing growing discussion about possible full membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
At first glance, these two processes appear complementary. Legally, they are not mutually exclusive, since Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia belong to both organizations. The decisive question for Uzbekistan is narrower. It concerns which integration framework should shape the country’s long-term economic future.
From economic isolation to an open economy When President Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched his reform agenda in 2016, Uzbekistan remained one of the least integrated economies in Eurasia. Foreign exchange controls, multiple exchange rates, restrictive customs procedures, and import substitution policies had constrained private investment and exports for close to 20 years.
The reforms that followed altered this trajectory. Currency convertibility was introduced in 2017, removing one of the largest barriers to foreign trade and investment. Customs procedures were simplified and increasingly digitized. Relations with neighboring Central Asian countries improved, with reopened border crossings and expanded transport links.
The government launched privatization and state-owned enterprise reform programs, liberalized prices in several sectors, strengthened investment legislation, and adopted the Uzbekistan-2030 strategy centered on private-sector-led growth. The results have been substantial.
Uzbekistan’s merchandise trade has more than doubled since 2016, and exports have diversified beyond traditional commodities. The European Union granted Uzbekistan GSP+ preferences in 2021, widening access to one of the world’s largest consumer markets. Trade with China, Turkiye, South Korea, and the Gulf states has expanded, and Central Asia itself has become a more integrated economic region.
This transformation reflects a shift in economic policy. Policymakers increasingly treat trade as a source of productivity, technology transfer, and investment, where earlier policy had emphasized protection of domestic producers. Completing WTO accession is therefore the logical continuation of this reform strategy.
WTO membership: an institutional reform agenda Public debate often reduces WTO accession to lower tariffs and easier market access. Its largest benefits come through stronger institutions, well beyond tariff reductions. The WTO provides a universal rules-based framework governing trade among virtually all major economies.
Membership requires transparent trade regulations, predictable customs procedures, equal treatment of domestic and foreign firms, stronger protection of intellectual property, and non-discriminatory technical standards covering goods and services. For Uzbekistan, these requirements reinforce reforms already underway, and accession negotiations have become a catalyst for legislative modernization.
Laws governing customs administration, technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, intellectual property, licensing, investment, and services have been revised to align with international standards. Domestic enterprises gain from this alongside foreign firms, through greater certainty and lower transaction costs.