On June 3, the president signed the Measures to further expedite market reforms and harmonize national legislation with World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements Decree depriving several state-owned companies in Uzbekistan of special (exclusive) rights.
Starting from January 1, 2025 the following shall be scrapped:
- Uzmetkombinat’s right to procure (purchase) scrap and ferrous metal waste on the territory of Uzbekistan;
- Uzvtortsvetmet’s right to procure and export scrap and non-ferrous metal waste on the territory of the republic;
- Uztrade’s right to ship food flour and wheat, as well as products of small businesses and private entrepreneurship, farms for export without providing a bank guarantee or an insurance policy for export contracts against political and commercial risks to trading houses on consignment terms;
- Uzkimyoimpex’s single agent’s right to export chemical products from organizations of Uzkimyosanoat , as well as import equipment, spare parts, components, raw materials and materials for their production needs.
From July 1, 2026, UzGasTrade will not be the only exporter and the only operator for centralized import of natural gas from external sources, and Uzenergosotish will lose the right to centralized export and import of electricity.
From January 1, 2025, a procedure for licensing activities for the procurement (purchase), processing and sale of scrap and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as well as wholesale and retail trade of natural gas and electricity will be introduced.
Starting from January 1, 2026, restrictions on the export of copper cathode and copper rod purchased at exchange trading shall be lifted.
The discount, as well as the deferred payment benefit for companies, shall not apply to the purchase price of copper cathode and copper rod purchased at exchange auctions for export.
In July 2020, the Antimonopoly Committee proposed to cancel Uzmetkombinat’s exclusive right to procure scrap and ferrous metal waste, and Uzvtortsvetmet - non-ferrous metals.
The Committee pointed out that due to the ineffective and non-transparent procurement mechanism and scrap procurement, scrap procurement volumes in the country meet the needs of Uzmetkombinat only by 60-65%, i.e. the plant covers the remaining 40-35% through imports.
