The Export-Import Policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2016-2018 and its Impact on the Competitiveness of the Export of Manufactured Products of Domestic Producers

In the context of deepening economic reforms and increasing the openness of the economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, issues of increasing export efficiency and rationalizing imports, creating conditions conducive to improving the competitiveness of domestic producers in the domestic and foreign markets are of particular relevance. In the conditions of open market economy and the priority of purely economic considerations, there is no other way to accelerate both social and economic development of the certain country and enhance the welfare of the people, except for a flexible and predictable economic policy, its continuous adaptation to the constantly changing conditions of the domestic and foreign markets. On October 1, 2017, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the new President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, signed the Decree “On measures to further streamline foreign economic activity and improve the customs and tariff regulation of the Republic of Uzbekistan”. Unlike the previous foreign trade policy, the adoption of this decree implied significant liberalization of the country's import policy, reduction of trade barriers, simplification of administrative and technical regulations of imports and increasing export efficiency. Research Question. What is the impact of the export-import policy change in 2017 on the competitiveness of the export of manufactured products of domestic producers in Uzbekistan? Through which instruments does the export-import policy affect the competitiveness of the export of manufactured products of domestic producers? The object of this research is the export-import policy of Uzbekistan in 2016-2018, precisely a policy change in 2017. The subject of the research is the influence of the policy change in 2017 on the competitiveness of the export of manufactured products of domestic producers. Research goal is to study the export-import policy of Uzbekistan in 2016-2018 and its impact on the competitiveness of the export of manufactured products of domestic producers. The analysis shows that export-import policy conducted in Uzbekistan before the policy change is mainly characterized by a rather strict protectionist approach (application of excessive customs-tariff regulation, indirect taxes, administrative and technical barriers etc.). Concerning the impact of the export-import policy of Uzbekistan on the competitiveness of its domestic producers, as the analysis shows, liberalization of export-import policies, in general, positively affected the level of competitiveness of national producers. This is confirmed in the research by the application of index of revealed competitive advantage (RCA), which quantitatively demonstrated the growth in the competitiveness of certain industries.