Washington Must Step Up Its Trade in Central Asia... Or Lose Out

Last week, a delegation led by Senator Sodiq Safoyev, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan (and former ambassador of Uzbekistan to the United States), visited Washington, D.C. to continue the republic’s campaign for repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment and establishment of normal trade relations with the United States. Jackson-Vanik, which many consider a relic of the Cold War, still applies to the Central Asia republics of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.…