Until recently, Uzbekistan was Tajikistan's second most import trading partner among members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). However, given the problematic year in 2010, with the ongoing dispute over Tajik plans to build the Roghun hydroelectricity plant, trade between the two countries was significantly reduced. In 2010 Uzbekistan occupied fifth position among Tajikistan's CIS trading partners, after Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Turkmenistan. According to the SSC, trade with Uzbekistan in January-November 2010 amounted to US$73.4m, a fall of 61.4% compared with the year-earlier period. Natural gas and electricity were the main imports from Uzbekistan, and the chief export to Uzbekistan was electricity (mainly in the summer months).

In February 2011 Uzbekistan imposed a ban on any private transfer of funds from its territory and by its citizens to Tajikistan. Uzbekistan has also regularly interrupted the export of natural gas to Tajikistan, owing to Tajikistan's accumulating gas debt. According to the Tajik Ministry of Finance, the government has earmarked US$4.7m in its state budget for paying off Tajikistan's foreign debt to Uzbekistan in 2011. On January 1st 2011 Tajikistan's debt to Uzbekistan was US$32.4m. Given the deliberate clogging of transportation routes between the two states, which also affects the export of Tajik commodities to other countries through Uzbek territory, Tajikistan is hoping that new corridors (in the way of more and better roads, bridges and eventually railways) for transporting goods through China and Afghanistan will help to alleviate the problem. Among other things, according to the chair of the Tajik Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sharif Said, Chinese companies are in the process of completing the Dushanbe-Kulob-Khorog-Murghab-Kulma motorway.

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