Uzbek Government: EU Boycott Won't Weaken Country's Position in Global Cotton Market

摘要

Citing alleged use of child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton fields, prominent Western textile manufacturers and the European Union are imposing sanctions on Uzbek cotton, but any lasting impact of the moves on the former Soviet nation's economy is stillunclear. Swedish retailer H&M, as well as such sportswear giants as Adidas and Puma, are among the companies that are boycotting Uzbek cotton, while the EU announced it would end preferential tax treatment on Uzbek cotton imports. Uzbekistan's governmentdenied the sanctions would seriously harm the country's economy, as Russia and other buyers in the Middle East and Asia would remain major trading partners. At the same time, it alleged that "dishonest competitors" were possibly behind the accusations that its cotton industry - the world's sixth-largest by volume -was using child labor. "Cotton is also grown in India, Australia, Africa, North and South America, and as far as we know, in some of these countries children are also involved with work in the cotton fields. However, there was not any reaction to this from the human rights organizations," an official government representative said, adding: "The Uzbek government has also not ruled out the possibility that the hysteria around Uzbek cotton wasraised by some dishonest competitors.