From November 8 to 10, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA10) held a national workshop/technical assistance mission on trade promotion within the framework of the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+), for representatives of competent governmental authorities of Uzbekistan responsible for elaboration of guidelines, instructions etc. for competent authorities and economic operators in charge of the Registered Exporter System.

This activity aimed to assist the competent governmental authorities of Uzbekistan in the effective application of the GSP+ scheme, to raise awareness regarding the EU export standards, and to promote the administrative cooperation of the respective governmental authorities.

GSP+ consists of special incentive arrangements for sustainable development and provides additional tariff preferences on importation of goods to the EU from developing countries, which are vulnerable due to a lack of diversification and insufficient integration within the international trading system.

The national workshop provided the evaluation of existing legislation and practice, including monitoring and control of the registered exporter system (REX), as well as application of the rules of origin.

Based on a review of existing legislation and an assessment of the practical application of the rules of origin, including monitoring and control of the REX system, areas for improvement were identified and recommendations made for further development of the country’s export capacities and to improve integration with international trade principles and requirements.

This workshop was organised in the framework of BOMCA Component 3 “Facilitation of Trade”.

A similar activity has been held in Kyrgyzstan.