December 5, 2001	Wednesday	Ramazan 19, 1422

DHAKA, Dec 4: Bangladesh’s struggling garment industry has established a lobby in Washington to push for duty- and quota-free access for exports to its largest market the United States, industry leaders said on Tuesday.

Officials of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told AFP the group had appointed a lobby group in Washington to try to put a bill on the issue before the US Congress.

Unless we get this, our garment sector will be doomed, one businessman said.

Association president Kutubuddin Ahmed said the process of setting up the lobbying effort was initiated during a recent visit to Washington by the organisation’s officials.

The visit made the US officials and businessmen aware about our situation and we are very hopeful we will be able to get the duty- and quota-free access, he said.

Following the Sept 11, attacks in the US, Bangladesh has been facing an economic pinch, especially textile producers.

More than 40 per cent of Bangladesh’s exported textiles are targetted to US markets.

The downturn has already cost the jobs of tens of thousands of the nearly two million mostly female garment workers, according to media reports.

Nearly half of the 3,000-plus textile factories nationwide are shut or limping because of cancelled orders from US importers or uncertainties over shipping.—AFP