Bishkek, Zpresskg.com - European Union rejected a measure to provide trade incentives for Uzbek cotton, centralasianewswire.com reports.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 - The European Union overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday to reject the inclusion of Uzbek textiles in a package of special trade incentives.
EU lawmakers said they objected to the practice by the Uzbek government of using forced child labor during harvest seasons.
Uzbekistan, the world’s third largest exporter of cotton, is under growing international pressure to stop the custom.
The trade deal would have lowered import taxes of Uzbek cotton, making it easier for the country to export textiles in European countries, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) said.
The EU’s Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) underlies the trade of most products exchanged between the European bloc and the Uzbek republic.
Uzbekistan relies on cotton for around 25 percent of its exports.
The foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament said it will not consider revising its decision until international organizations can verify that child labor is no longer used in the cotton industry.
Human rights organizations say that many children are taken from schools and bussed to work sites where they are forced to work and live under deplorable conditions through the three-month harvest season.
Authorities in the ex-Soviet country counter that cotton picking is a family farm activity.