Kazakhstan is adopting a non-confrontational stance as it finesses trade relations with the United States, seeking engagement rather than retaliation over the imposition of US tariffs.
Deputy Trade Minister Zhanel Kushukova told journalists on April 17 that the government intended to send a delegation to Washington to hold talks on a variety of trade issues, including tariffs. The Trump administration initially hit Kazakh goods with a 27-percent tariff rate, but subsequently scaled the rate back provisionally to 10 percent. In addition, the Trump administration has placed a 90-day pause on the imposition of tariffs.
“All countries are now interested in holding consultations with the USA about duties, and we are no exception,” the InBusiness.kz news agency quoted Kushkova as saying. “We are currently working on this issue within the government and are preparing for consultations.” She provided no timeframe for when the Kazakh delegation would depart for the United States.
As the tariff and other trade issues play out, Kazakh officials are embracing a do-no-harm approach in response to the constant zigs and zags of US policymaking. Kushkova emphasized that Kazakhstan had no intention of imposing reciprocal tariffs on US goods, citing the country’s membership in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) trade bloc as a factor in Astana’s policy of restraint.
“A single customs tariff applies to five [EAEU member] states. That is, if any duties are to be changed on imported goods, then it can only be by a decision of the five,” Kushkova said. “But today, such an issue is not even considered.” Russia, the EAEU’s dominant member, has so far been exempted from US tariffs, even though it is subjected to extensive sanctions imposed by the US and European Union.
Kazakhstan in 2024 had the highest overall trade turnover with the United States of all Central Asian states, totaling $3.4 billion, of which more than two-thirds comprised US-bound Kazakh exports, mainly carbon resources and other commodities. Kazakh officials have noted that energy and other raw-material exports would be exempt from tariffs under the present US framework.
The planned Kazakh delegation would have plenty to discuss with US officials in Washington beyond tariffs. Since taking power, the Trump administration has repeatedly expressed interest to striking trade deals concerning Kazakhstan’s abundant reserves of rare earths. US interest in securing an increase in Kazakh mineral supplies is only intensifying in the wake of a Chinese ban on rare earth exports.
The top US diplomat in Kazakhstan, Deborah Robinson, earlier in April reaffirmed US support “for private and public sector cooperation in the critical minerals sector.”
Meanwhile, data published by Kazakhstan’s State Statistics Agency provides fresh evidence that Russia is having an increasingly difficult time using the Central Asian nation as a back door for sanctions-busting trade.
Kazakh authorities insist that they are enforcing US and EU sanctions. Nevertheless, the country has long been suspected as an enabler of illicit transit in dual-use technology and goods that can help maintain Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. A variety of Kazakh-based entities have been added to the US sanctions list since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
Of late, however, Russian business representatives in Kazakhstan have complained about tightening financial regulations that hinder their ability to operate, according to reports distributed by state-controlled Russian media.
The data published by QazStat supports the notion that Kazakhstan’s is becoming a less hospitable environment for sanctions-busting activity. The number of Russian companies operating in Kazakhstan has been gradually declining for a year now, following a long period of explosive growth, the official statistics show.
In January 2022, the month before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, roughly 7,900 Russian entities operated in Kazakhstan. By the end of that year, the number nearly doubled to 15,700.
The number of actively operating Russian entities in Kazakhstan peaked during the first quarter of 2024, totaling 19,735. Since then, the numbers have declined by a few hundred each quarter, and stood at 18,366 as of April 1 of this year, a 7 percent drop over the four-quarter period.
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