Uzbekistan's Trade Liberalization: Key to Central Asian Economic Integration
First published in Central Asia - Caucasus Analyst, vol. 2, no. 4 (16 February 2000): 3-4. Copyright © Robert M. Cutler.
SUMMARY: President Islam Karimov's reelection in Uzbekistan has been followed by his statement that a program of economic liberalization and privatization will now be introduced in the country. Currency controls on the Uzbek som and its less than full convertibility, have been the greatest roadblocks to the overall development of the Central Asian trading block, called the Central Asian Union, that includes Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. If barriers including bilateral trade tariffs can be overcome, the Central Asian Union holds the greatest potential to reanimate regional trade throughout the Central Asian region.
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