Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In Washington, a delegation of Uzbekistan led by Chairperson of the National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor Tanzila Narbayeva held a briefing at the United States Council on International Business (USCIB) amid the end of the "cotton boycott" of the Cotton Campaign coalition.

It was attended by representatives of such leading brands as Hanesbrands, retail hypermarket chains Wallmart, Home Depot, Target, legal and lobbying structures representing the interests of US textile companies, Crowell & Moring, Seyfarth Shaw, Arnold & Porter, Braddon Group, etc.

The participants of the briefing were informed in detail about the measures taken in the country to strengthen the institutional framework and law enforcement to eradicate forced labor, the structural reforms carried out in the country in agriculture, the mechanization of the cotton harvest and the development of the cluster system. Attention was drawn to ensuring full access for independent monitoring of the entire cotton harvest process, active interaction with the ILO and other international organizations, foreign and local NGOs. Efforts to create, within the framework of the cluster system of Uzbekistan, modern enterprises with the possibility of full transparency regarding labor practices and tracking all stages of the production cycle are explained.

USCIB Vice President Gabriella Herzog, who took part in the briefing, noted that Uzbekistan is becoming a global example of a success story in the field of combating forced labor, as evidenced by the demonstration of the country’s experience at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labor, held in May 2022.

The USCIB representative specifically welcomed the implementation in Uzbekistan, together with the ILO, of the Better Work program, which, in her opinion, will not only improve working conditions, but also contribute to increased competitiveness in global textile supply chains.

In turn, the director of the ILO Washington office, Kevin Cassidy, speaking about the results of monitoring the cotton harvest in 2021, confirmed the complete elimination of systematic or systemic forced labor in Uzbekistan, a significant increase in the amount of payments for cotton pickers, ensuring their participation in collective bargaining, involving civil society in the monitoring process. The representative of the ILO stated that 83% of respondents indicated a significant improvement in working conditions.

Participants from the US business community also welcomed Uzbekistan’s progress in eliminating forced labor. In particular, Anbin Fang, Government Relations Manager at Wallmart, one of the world’s largest hypermarket chains, noted that the scale of the measures taken in a short period of time is impressive. "Uzbekistan has great potential to become a world leader in the textile industry," the representative of the American company said.

During the briefing, clarifications were also given to the questions of interest to the participants regarding the existing mechanisms for ensuring serviceability in the production chain of textile clusters in Uzbekistan, the system of their vertical integration, logistics and export markets for finished textile products.

The United States Council on International Business (USCIB), established in 1945 to represent and protect the interests of US companies in international organizations, foreign and American government agencies, is one of the three largest non-governmental organizations in the United States along with the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Association US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), which unites over 1,500 global brands and retailers, which together provide more than US$350 billion in annual sales of textile products in the United States alone. USCIB defends the interests of American enterprises in matters related to the freedom of international trade, investment, environmental protection, and labor rights. USCIB brings together over 300 multinational corporations, major law firms and business associations.