Tariff and non-tariff restrictions on 19 categories of goods will be lifted starting 10 August. The move was announced at the Uzbek-Kazakh Business Forum in Tashkent. The categories covered include agricultural products, textiles, construction materials, machinery, auto components and furniture.
The decision was reached at a meeting of the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Commission in Aktau, attended by the prime ministers of both countries. Davron Vakhabov, chairman of Uzbekistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry: “A week ago, it was announced that all existing tariff and non-tariff barriers would be removed starting 10 August. We are confident this will give a significant boost to entrepreneurs in both countries.”
Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Uzbekistan, Eraly Tugzhanov, called the pace of the decision unprecedented and attributed it to close ties between the two countries’ leaders. He said Kazakhstan has the potential to expand exports to Uzbekistan across 261 product categories. Ahead of the forum, the ambassador met with representatives of the Association of Exporters of Uzbekistan to discuss issues facing businesses, then visited the border area.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached nearly $5 billion in 2025, up 11% year-on-year. The presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have set a target of raising annual trade to $10 billion.
