November 9, 2002	Saturday	Ramazan 3,1423

KARACHI, Nov 8: US Commerce Department has denied any understanding has been reached with Pakistan over textile duty and quota breaks during last week’s visit of US Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agriculture Affairs, Alan Larson.

The US department said that even no negotiations had been held between Larson and Pakistani officials over apparel and textile duty and quota breaks.

A message received here from Washington said that Grant Aldonas, US Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade has refuted such reports.

Reports appearing in a section of local press claiming that the US has agreed to remove quota restrictions on Pakistan’s man-made bedlinen products falling under category 666.

These reports further stated that this understanding has been reached at the meeting between Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood and US Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agriculture Affairs, Alan Larson during his recent visit to Pakistan.

“Nothing could happen on this account without my direct involvement,” said Aldonas, in an e-mail to Jock Nash, Washington counsel for a leading US textile company. He asked Nash to pass the message on in order to remove any confusion on the issue.

However, Aldonas said Alan Larson might have discussed another Pakistani request for increased quota and duty-free market access for textiles. Aldonas called the media report “completely and totally false.”

Pakistan had been pressing upon the US for lifting restrictions imposed on category 666 during 1998- 2000, but, the US State Department claims, no such issue came under discussion during last week’s visit of Alan Larson to Pakistan. Larson visit was part of a three-country trip last week that also included Afghanistan and India.

The Bush administration granted Pakistan more than $426 million in apparel quota increases in various apparel and textile categories over the course of three years, a gesture that fell far short of the broad menu of apparel and textile trade breaks the Pakistanis were seeking and US mills were fighting. The increases went into effect on March 12, 2002.

Meanwhile, Ashraf Hayat, minister of trade at the Pakistan embassy in Washington, said he had not been briefed on Larson’s visit, but claimed his government would not make such a direct request.

“There is an effort to develop congruence with the political dimensions of our relationship and the economic and commercial, aspects,” he said.

Hayat noted that exports of apparel and textile from Pakistan have declined since the beginning of the year, but said it was “premature” to discuss whether his government would seek further concessions.

“The benefits given to us were welcomed, but they didn’t translate into extra business,” he said.

Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association (PBEA) chairman Aziz Jamal told Dawn that the commerce minister has every right to discuss whatever he wants to with the US officials but when bedlinen comes, the representative body should have been taken into confidence.

He said during the meeting which took place in Islamabad people from other trades were present on the occasion but there was no bedlinen representative.

The government did not even consult us on this matter and it turned out to be a total surprise for PBEA members on knowing that issues relating to bedlinen came under discussion in the meeting with the US official, Aziz Jamal said.