Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) invited the delegation from the Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation to Korea for discussions on technical barriers to trade (TBTs) between the two countries, and visited the certification and testing sites of Korean companies exporting to Uzbekistan to discuss measures for resolving TBTs.

 

As of this January, the Uzbek government has mandated that one institution be in charge of conducting tests and issuing certifications to all imported home appliances as part of additional measures for enhancing the country’s electrical power industry productivity and export potential. However, Korean firms exporting to Uzbekistan reported certification and customs bottleneck issues, on which KATS and the Uzbek delegation gathered information and opinions and agreed to review the possibility of conducting on-site inspections on Korean exporters and issuing an import certification effective for a three-year period instead of testing each unit product.

 

In view of Uzbekistan’s active preparation for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), KATS Director General Changsoo Lee said that strengthening bilateral cooperation between KATS and the Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation will serve as the future base for joint efforts in responding to TBTs through the WTO.