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Behzod Hoshimov, an economist and professor at New York University, told Gazeta.uz. In the interview He responded to questions about what joining the World Trade Organization would bring to Uzbekistan.
The reporter asked him the following questions:
“You expressed the view that we need to join the WTO to protect ourselves. Why is that?”
“We can say that WTO members are countries that have committed to certain rules. One of these commitments is not to give preferential treatment to foreign companies. The same rules of the game should apply to foreign and domestic businesses. “According to the philosophy of the organization, it is unfair to increase tariffs and make some demands,” Bezod Hashimov said.
This philosophy did not emerge overnight, he said. In the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed in the 20th century, countries said “if we impose some tariffs and requirements on each other’s products, it will hurt all of us, if we all treat each other’s businesses on the same terms, we will be rich”. The economist said that this agreement had a history before, but its meaning is exactly what it is.
Later, many other countries, newly independent countries, asked, “Can we also join that agreement?” he asked. They replied, “If you also agree to our demands, you can enter.” In the era of deepening globalization – since the 1990s, many countries, almost all countries in the world, have become members of this organization.
“It includes countries that don’t like each other very much: Russia, China and the United States. One of the functions of the organization is to resolve disputes between countries through its courts. For example, relatively small countries, including the Philippines, have taken this country to court several times, claiming that the United States has acted unfairly against their businesses.”
He said Uzbekistan’s trade policy is very uncertain.
“Now, if we return to Uzbekistan, why should this organization protect us from ourselves? Our trade policy is very unclear. One day responsibility is imposed on this thing, another day on another thing, and the next day on this demand again. It is difficult to predict and can be said to be variable. It changes depending on the situation or other circumstances,” said Behzod Hoshimov.
He said the second factor was that everywhere in the world, local manufacturers were able to put pressure on the authorities, and are still able to do so. They used fears like “You have to protect us, if you don’t protect us, our workers will be on the streets.” To avoid these fears and pressures, the United States and others created this organization.
“Even if these intimidation companies come to Congress and threaten them, they say, ‘We will raise tariffs, but the organization will still reduce our tariffs to zero.’ But in fact, it is protecting the well-being of American citizens. Even in Uzbekistan, especially in the largest producer like us, the WTO is like a protective shell against pressure from producers. For example, a large manufacturer comes and says, “I have so many workers, we can’t make such a decision.” The government knows that this is harmful, but, for example, especially in democratic countries, they exert influence through lobbying groups,” said the economist.
For example, in the United States, steel producers are located in Pennsylvania. That’s why the Pennsylvania senator didn’t push for zero steel tariffs. Pennsylvania steelmakers put pressure on every senator or congressman. They said, “We and our entire family will do everything we can to prevent you from getting elected next time.” These agreements are supposed to exist to protect the government from things like this.
“If we become a member of the organization, first of all it will force us to abandon the ever-changing trade policy. If we can easily change everything now, then we will have to tell each member country what we want to do. But the real purpose of this is our own interests. Because we know that free trade makes countries rich. Therefore, we can consider this organization, which was created to weaken the power of small interest groups in trade policy, as a tool to reduce pressure on Uzbekistan, that is, on the representatives who are responsible for this work. , – concluded Bezod Hashimov.
You can watch the full interview via the link below:
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