Uzbekistan Targets WTO Membership in 2027, a Milestone for US Trade Normalization
Uzbekistan aims to finish its WTO accession talks by the end of 2026 and join in 2027, a step that matters for US businesses because proposed US legislation granting permanent normal trade relations to Uzbekistan would take effect only after WTO membership.
According to Daryo, Uzbekistan aims to wrap up its World Trade Organization accession negotiations by the end of 2026 and join in 2027. Sung-yo Choi, chairman of the accession working party, laid out the timeline at a press conference in Tashkent on November 3 and warned that the remaining talks "will not be easy."
Choi said the working party has met twice in 2026. Uzbekistan has answered more than 400 questions from WTO members and submitted over 30 documents, and bilateral market access talks on goods and services are finished with more than 30 countries. Iskandarbek Genjayev of the Presidential Administration said the country has reached the final stage, pointing to reforms such as scrapping the list of goods that can only be exported with special permits and ending the exclusive rights of major state-owned enterprises. A presidential decree sets December 2026 as the date for moving to the formalization stage of membership.
For US companies, the timeline matters. Uzbekistan has been under the Jackson-Vanik framework. At the October 19 meeting in Samarkand, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration supports repeal but the decision rests with Congress, as reported by yep.uz. According to Congress.gov, H.R. 2329, the Uzbekistan Normalized Trade Act, was introduced in March 2025 and remains in committee. It would take effect only once the President certifies that Uzbekistan has joined the WTO.
For investors, WTO progress is worth tracking alongside the broader US commercial agenda in Uzbekistan.
Sources: Daryo, November 4, 2026; yep.uz, October 20, 2026; Congress.gov, H.R. 2329.