OREANDA-NEWS. February 03, 2010. Indonesia became the 45th country Uzbekistan has established favored trade relations with.

Currently, there are a number of foreign countries Uzbekistan concluded agreements on trade and economic cooperation with granting preferential terms, approved by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Ministry of Finance and the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan.

In particular, under such agreements domestic exporters are entitled to a preferential trade regime. Exporters are required to get a Certificate of the Country of Origin at Uzbekekspertiza, a unit of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade. Uzbekekspertiza said it is the retailer in the country of import who receives the preferences as it lowers the price of production for Uzbek exporters in world markets thus ensuring the competitiveness of domestic goods. Preferential trade regime includes exemption or reduction of fees on customs duties. But this requires confirmation that the imported goods are wholly produced or sufficiently processed in the country of export. Certificate of the Country of Origin is such a confirmation.

CIS countries enjoy a free trade regime, informed Uzbekekspertiza. More than a third of nations Uzbekistan has a preferential trade regime with are European countries.

Official data indicates that foreign trade emphasis is increasingly shifting to the growing markets in East Asia. In particular, in the first nine months of 2009, the share of Uzbekistan’s largest partners, China and South Korea, exceeded 15% in foreign trade turnover of the country.

Indonesia became the eighth Asian country with which Uzbekistan has most favored trade relations. In addition to China and South Korea, the list includes India, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.