Turkmenistan Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in turkmenistan, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Given Turkmenistan’s place as one of the leading natural gas producers in the world, large foreign currency earnings, and interest in diversification of its economy, there are significant opportunities for U.S. exporters. However, patience (many deals take years to materialize) and a willingness to navigate the Turkmen bureaucracy are required. 

Furthermore, the GoTM and GoTM-controlled entities (including Turkmen Oil, Turkmen Gas, and Turkmen Chemicals) have a reputation for non-payment of its contracts with international firms, thus most U.S. companies require prepayment in USD or a contract for payment with the State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs. It is not advisable to sell through an intermediary without prepayment because the intermediary will typically be paid in manat which they likely cannot convert at the official rate and thus will be unable to pay the U.S. company. The GoTM, or GoTM-owned companies, occasionally proposes barter deals for international partners, such as trading spare parts for offtake of refined products. However, delivery of the promised products may be delayed for long periods, therefore most U.S. companies insist on receiving the goods before delivering their product.

Below are the main sectors that historically have attracted foreign companies to Turkmenistan.  

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

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The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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