Uzbekistan has signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which will likely strengthen control over the movement of sanctioned goods.
The agreement was signed by Akmalkhuja Mavlonov, Chairman of the Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Troy A. Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of Commissioner of CBP.
The United States has similar bilateral agreements on customs cooperation only with 17 out of 200 countries. Uzbekistan is the 18th country in this list.
This agreement provides for information exchange and evidence to fight duty evasion, weapons proliferation, and money laundering.
During the negotiations, possibilities of attracting U.S. Customs and Border protection specialists to Uzbekistan were discussed, as well as improving the skills of Uzbek specialists in the US. Uzbekistan’s foreign trade with the United States has grown by 48% over the past 6 years. Over the 8 months of this year, this figure increased by 64% compared to last year.
In 2022, Vadim Skibitsky, a representative from the main intelligence agency of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, said in an interview with La Repubblica that there are countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan helping Russia bypass sanctions.
