BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 3
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
The Office of the Trade Representative to the US Presidential Executive Office (USTR) retains Uzbekistan's right to use duty-free trade with the United States, Trend reports citing Dunyo agency.
The Office of USTR announced at the end of October a decision to terminate the procedure for reviewing the application of the General System of Preferences (GSP) in respect of Uzbekistan based on the criterion of ensuring workers' rights.
By this decision, the USTR retained Uzbekistan's right to use the duty-free trade regime with the United States, thereby closing the 12-year forced labor case against the country.
The General System of Preferences is a duty-free regime for importing goods into the United States under the 1974 Trade Act for imports from developing countries. Uzbekistan was granted the status of a GSP beneficiary (the right to duty-free supplies to the United States) in August 1994.
A delegation of Uzbekistan, led by Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, Nozim Khusanov, in January 2020 took part in a public hearing held at the Office of the Trade Representative on a petition from the International Forum for Workers' Rights (IFWR).
After examining the arguments presented by the parties, the USTR concluded that there was no reason to revise Uzbekistan's preferences for duty-free trade.
Commenting on his conclusion, the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer noted that the decision took into account the important steps that Uzbekistan has taken to improve the protection of workers' rights.
Among significant achievements of Uzbekistan, the Trade Representative attributed the abolition of mandatory volumes for cotton picking and a significant increase in the level of pay for cotton pickers, which ultimately created conditions for voluntary labor.
Thus, all decades-long hearings on human rights issues at the Trade Representative's Office have been completely stopped and Uzbekistan's duty-free trade regime with the United States has been preserved.
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