CIS has almost completely abandoned the dollar in trade

Over the past two years, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has made a sharp shift in the financial arena. According to official data published at the end of 2025, member states have effectively pushed third-country currencies out of mutual trade settlements: in 2024–2025, 96% of payments were made directly in national currencies. This was reported by upl.uzreports.

CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev said the process has been completed. He noted that abandoning global reserve currencies and switching to sovereign payment instruments has become a steady trend. A similar figure is also seen in the Eurasian Economic Union, where the share of settlements in national currencies has reached 93%. Lebedev viewed this as evidence that de-dollarization in the region’s economy is an irreversible process.

The main driver behind the shift to direct settlements has been economic security concerns. The Commonwealth’s Executive Committee notes that in today’s geopolitical environment, using traditional world currencies is excessively risky: transactions may be blocked or assets frozen. Moving to national currencies has formed a relatively independent system that ensures uninterrupted capital flows.

Financial sovereignization is unfolding amid increased activity in the real sector. According to statistical agencies’ estimates, intra-CIS trade turnover has grown by 18% over the past four years. By the end of 2024, the combined gross domestic product of the Commonwealth countries also rose by 4.5%.

The foundation for today’s results was laid much earlier. The Secretary General recalled the important role of the Free Trade Area agreement: the document, signed about 15 years ago, paved the way for abolishing customs duties on most product groups. As tariff and non-tariff barriers declined, settling in national currencies became a logical step for businesses, reducing conversion and cross-border transfer costs.

As a reminder, the first agreement to create a Payment Union among CIS states was signed in October 1994. However, the infrastructure enabling mass settlements in national currencies while bypassing the dollar cross-rate began to function fully and gain dominance only 30 years later — by 2024.

Dilfuza Razzoqova

Editor of «ZAMIN.UZ»