Integrating Sustainable Trade Principles in Uzbekistan

This article is an assessment of the current state of affairs in Uzbekistan’s SDG policies. It is based on an analysis of UN compiled data on SDGs, as well as an overview of Uzbekistan’s key SDG-related strategies, as well as unstructured interviews with a dozen respondents. Desk research suggests that Government’s key SDG priorities remain in export promotion, job creation and increased economic competitiveness. Interviews suggest that sustainability is understood as political and economic stability, economic growth, environmental conservation and rule of law. From the SDG issues, respondents identified SME and female entrepreneur support, employment generation and e-commerce as the ones with the highest priority, while concurring that corruption, monopolies and market distortions, low policy implementation capacity and limited public awareness of sustainability were the greatest obstacles. The greatest strength of Uzbekistan in integrating international trade into SDGs is the current reform momentum. Significantly improved relations with neighbors is another strength, with a window of opportunity to improve on regional trade, transit, connectivity, as well as water management and water-energy nexus. The greatest challenge, on the other hand, remains the government’s focus on exports, FDI, job creation and GDP growth, even if at the expense of the other SDGs. The other significant challenge is the insistence on import substitution and local production, and economic mercantilism in general, at the expense of the free-trade, value-chain-integration-based development model. Agriculture and food production, energy and e-commerce will be the sectors with highest potential in scaling up sustainable trade principles.