Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — At the regular session of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, the draft Law "On Amendments and Additions to the Customs Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan" was considered and conceptually approved in the first reading.

The adoption of this document is aimed at implementing large-scale measures to unlock the country’s economic potential, deepen its integration into global manufacturing processes and value chains, expand the application of free market principles, and accelerate Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

According to Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of the WTO, all benefits and preferences granted must be applied equally to all member states of the organization. This means that each WTO member country must use a uniform approach in collecting customs duties on all other 166 member states.

Currently, Uzbekistan conducts foreign trade within the framework of a free trade regime with 10 countries and applies the most-favored-nation (MFN) regime to 47 countries, as regulated by bilateral and multilateral international agreements.

Under the current version of the Customs Code, import duties are applied at double the rate for goods originating from countries with which there are no MFN agreements or whose origin is undetermined.

The proposed amendments include abandoning this practice, which will allow for uniform taxation conditions on imports regardless of the country of origin, unless otherwise stipulated by international obligations.

It is expected that the proposed changes will positively impact the expansion of Uzbekistan’s foreign economic relations, stimulate the development of both imports and exports, and create favorable conditions for accelerating Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization.