US and Central Asian countries to discuss Afghanistan’s joining TIFA

The Council Meeting of the US – Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) will take place from March 29 to April 2. The event will be held in a videoconference format.

The agenda of the event provides for a discussion of the unification of customs procedures, compliance with intellectual property rights, the introduction of international commodity standards, as well as the development of electronic commerce. 

According to the American side, these areas of multilateral cooperation create a strong foundation for maintaining the application of the US Global System of Preferences (GSP) in relation to the Central Asian countries, which provides an opportunity to export their products to the American market without customs duties.

The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, DC stated that the discussion of Afghanistan’s membership in TIFA is also envisaged in the agenda of the upcoming meeting.