Uzbekistan, Turkey move to deepen trade ties with expanded preferential goods list

The agreement was reached during a meeting of the Uzbekistan–Turkey Joint Working Group, co-chaired by Akram Aliyev, Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, and Mustafa Tuzcu, Deputy Minister of Trade of Turkey.

According to the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, the agreement initially covered 12 product categories. With the addition of eight new categories, the total number of goods eligible for preferential treatment has increased to 20.

The ministry said preferential tariff rates vary depending on the product. The newly included categories were selected based on the structure of bilateral imports and exports between the two countries.

During the third round of negotiations, the two sides also discussed further expanding the list of goods subject to preferential trade on a reciprocal basis and reached a mutual understanding on the issue.

The Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade said the agreements are expected to stimulate bilateral trade, increase export and import volumes, and help achieve the goal set by the leaders of the two countries to raise annual trade turnover to $5 billion.

Expanding the range of goods covered by the Preferential Trade Agreement has previously been identified by both sides as one of the key instruments for reaching that target.