DHAKA, Aug 10: The United States may impose sanctions on non-humanitarian and non-trade assistance to Bangladesh over the trafficking of women and children, a source close to the US embassy here said on Tuesday.

A delegation of the United States comprising officials from the State Departmentwould conclude a four-day visit to Bangladesh on Wednesday following discussions with ministers and non-governmental organizations, the source said.

The team is assessing efforts by the Bangladesh government to tackle trafficking after the State Department's "Trafficking in Persons Report 2004" said not enough was being done.

If the team's report, expected in September, did not find any significant improvement in measures to reduce trafficking, sanctions could be imposed, the source told AFP.

Although the source would not "speculate" on possible sanctions, media reports said they could affect educational and cultural exchanges. The State Department's trafficking report, which divides countries into three categories, had previously ranked Bangladesh in "tier two" along with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

However, in 2004 it downgraded it to "tier three" saying it was not making significant efforts to eliminate trafficking. The report estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 women and children are trafficked annually from or via Bangladesh to India, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The majority are women and girls from rural areas of Bangladesh who end up working in the sex trade or as domestic helps in slave-like conditions. A small number are Burmese women and girls who are trafficked through Bangladesh en route to India, the report stated.

It said Bangladesh government initiatives to promote awareness had made progress but that other measures to tackle the problem had "stagnated". It also recognised government efforts to tackle the corruption that aids traffickers through a planned Anti-Corruption Commission adding, however, that further steps should be taken to prosecute officials involved. -AFP