U.S. to help Uzbekistan comply with anti-Russian sanctions

Another country through which parallel imports and dual-use goods were shipped to Russia has agreed to share customs information with the United States, The Moscow Times reported.

Following Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan's Customs Committee signed the agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance. It was the first meeting of this format since diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Uzbekistan were established 32 years ago. Uzbekistan became the 18th country with which the U.S. has signed such an agreement.

The agreement calls for U.S. assistance in Uzbekistan's digitalization of customs services, information sharing between the two countries' customs services, and strengthening joint efforts to combat drug trafficking, human trafficking, transnational crime, money laundering and customs evasion.

U.S. authorities will receive a large amount of information about export-import flows through Uzbekistan, and for Russian-linked companies, this situation could create big problems, the head of a payment agent company said.

Since 2022, Uzbekistan has become an important intermediary country for circumventing Western sanctions, though not the main one, he said. Such transactions through it are less profitable than through the Eurasian Union countries, but they are still possible because the country's authorities and its financial system have so far been very loyal to Russia.

Uzbekistan's foreign trade in goods with the US has grown by 48% over the past 6 years. In the first 8 months of this year, this figure increased by 64% compared to last year. However, based on available skills and capabilities, these figures can be further increased.

Reprinted from https://anhor.uz/