Coverment and economy

Trade and Investment

• Trade and Investment
• Uzbekistan has adopted a policy of import substitution reflected, for example, in its strong focus on increased wheat and oil and gas production. Given the multiple exchange rate system and the highly over-regulated trade regime has led to both import and export declines since 1996, although imports have declined more than exports, as the government squeezed imports to maintain hard currency reserves. Most "legal" import growth has been in capital equipment related to investment projects. Currency convertibility restrictions have severely constrained trade and new investment. Uzbekistan's traditional "trade" partners are NIS states, notably Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the other Central Asian countries. Non-NIS partners have been increasing in importance in recent years, with the U.S., Korea, Germany, Japan, and Turkey being the most active.

Uzbekistan is a member of the IMF, World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It has observer status at the World Trade Organization and is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization. It is a signatory to the Convention on Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States, the Paris Convention on Industrial Property, the Madrid Agreement on Trademarks Protection, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In 2002, Uzbekistan was again placed on the special "301" Watch List for lack of intellectual copyright protection. Although Uzbekistan has patent, copyright, and trademark laws dating from 1996 and compiled with technical assistance from experts, nonenforcement has caused the country to again be placed on the Watch List.

• Uzbekistan is a member of the IMF, World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It has observer status at the World Trade Organization and is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization. It is a signatory to the Convention on Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States, the Paris Convention on Industrial Property, the Madrid Agreement on Trademarks Protection, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In 2002, Uzbekistan was again placed on the special "301" Watch List for lack of intellectual copyright protection. Although Uzbekistan has patent, copyright, and trademark laws dating from 1996 and compiled with technical assistance from experts, nonenforcement has caused the country to again be placed on the Watch List.