Business Environment To Hold Back Economic Development

We expect the recent decision by the European Parliament on December 16 to vote down a proposal to include trade in textiles in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Uzbekistan on the grounds of human rights abuses to have little immediate impact on the Uzbek economy. Indeed, our Commodities team's view for prices of key Uzbek exports to remain high in 2012 will boost export receipts to the government in the short term. However, over the longer term we believe that Uzbekistan's continued non-compliance with international human rights standards will have a negative effect on the country's economic development.

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