U.S. signs trade and investment pact with five Central Asian countries
The Bush administration has signed a trade and investment framework agreement with five Central Asian countries.
This agreement will “provide a regular forum in which to address regional trade issues that hamper intra-regional trade and economic development and can act as impediments to investment,” said U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick in a June 1 statement.
The five Central Asian countries include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
U.S. trade and investment agreements often lead to full-fledge free trade agreements.