WASHINGTON, Sept 14: Unequal access to US clothing markets could cause unrest in one of the world’s poorest countries, the Bangladesh Minister of Commerce said on Friday.

Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, in Washington for diplomatic meetings, said Bangladesh’s apparel industry could not compete with those of other poor nations exempt from U.S. import taxes and duties.

He said this made its apparel about 16 percent more expensive than similar goods from Sub-Saharan Africa or the Caribbean Basin, covered under a US Trade and Development Agency program for selected states.

When your competitors have a 16 per cent edge over you, no way you have a chance, Chowdhury said.

Bangladesh is among the world’s 49 poorest countries as defined by the United Nations. About 2 million of its 131 million citizens, most of them women, work in textiles.

A US quota plan that gives Bangladesh access to a slice of the American apparel market will be withdrawn in 2005, along with the end of quotas for other countries.

Chowdhury said he feared the change would choke Bangladeshi exports and cause unrest among textile workers.

The growth of the industry has seen the employment of women in Bangladesh. That has empowered them socially. The face of Bangladesh is changing through the participation of women, he said. If we should see any more closures, as we have already seen, there could be many problems.

More than 300,000 textile workers have lost jobs in Bangladesh due to plant closures in the past eight months.

Textiles account for 75 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports, of which 45 per cent now go to the United States. The country specializes in low-end apparel such as cotton and wool shirts, pants and shorts.

Bangladesh does not have its own local market. We rely on exports for purchasing power at home, Chowdhury said. The US is a major market for us. If we lose this market it will be a disaster.

Although Bangladesh is considering new industries — including ceramics, leather goods, and software — to compensate, Chowdhury said any transition would be slow.

It took 20 years for the apparel industries to come this far. Any other industries are going to take time to develop, he said.—Reuters