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Press release from the Embassy of Uzbekistan in France: Cotton Campaign ends call for global boycott of cotton from Uzbekistan
On March 10, 2022 the international coalition Cotton Campaign announced the end of the call for a global boycott of Uzbek cotton. This statement was made on the basis of a report by the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, a partner of the Cotton Campaign, which noted that there was no forced labor in Uzbekistan during the harvest of 2021.
Background: In 2011 a group of 331 international brands and retailers brought together by the international non-governmental organization Cotton Campaign declared a boycott of cotton products from Uzbekistan under the pretext of child labor and forced labor in cotton harvesting.
The members of the Coalition note that this historic achievement is the result of the commitment of the Government of Uzbekistan to the eradication of forced labor, as well as many years of hard work by representatives of Uzbek civil society and international human rights and transnational trademarks.
In particular, large-scale reforms in the fight against forced labor were adopted under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev: the Government criminalized the use of forced labor and abolished cotton production quotas. In accordance with the recommendations of the ILO and the World Bank, the salaries of pickers have been considerably increased, which has thus contributed to the growth in the number of volunteers.
Since 2017 the Government of Uzbekistan has conducted a progressive dialogue with the members of the coalition in order to eliminate the so-called “cotton boycott”. Following a series of meetings and negotiations in June 2019, the coalition presented the Government of Uzbekistan with a “roadmap for reforms” that reflects a comprehensive vision to end forced labor in the construction industry. cotton and to ensure the effectiveness of ongoing reforms.
The full text of the press release of the international coalition Cotton Campaign is available at the following link:
In the meantime, it should be noted that in April 2021 Uzbekistan received the status of beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences "GSP+" of the European Union which means that products originating in and coming from Uzbekistan will benefit from a total exemption from import tariffs starting from April 10, 2021. Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization is also under consideration.
The end to the call for a global boycott of Uzbek cotton by the Cotton Campaign and the status of beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences "GSP+" will open new horizons for Uzbekistan's bilateral trade with the European Union, in particular with France.
In this respect, the Embassy is available for meetings with the French companies to discuss the possibilities of implementing joint projects which will undoubtedly serve the development of economic and commercial cooperation between Uzbekistan and France.
