Uzbekistan’s Digital Trade Integration at a Crossroads: WTO Accession, Data-Flow Liberalisation and the Post-MC14 Rules Landscape

Abstract

The year 2026 marks a turning point in the governance of digital trade for both Uzbekistan and the multilateral system. At the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé in March 2026, members failed to renew the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, while 66 members agreed to implement the plurilateral E-Commerce Agreement. In the same year, Uzbekistan relaxed its data-localisation regime, adopted an adequacy list of 49 jurisdictions for cross-border personal data transfers and entered the final stage of WTO accession. This paper develops a four-pillar framework for assessing national readiness for digital trade integration (market access, data governance, digital payments and trust, and paperless trade facilitation) and applies it to Uzbekistan. We find that the 2026 reforms substantially reduce regulatory barriers to digitally delivered services, but that gaps remain in binding international commitments, regulatory transparency and the interoperability of trust services. We propose a sequenced integration strategy that aligns WTO accession commitments with early participation in plurilateral digital trade rules.