KARACHI, Dec 20: While the minister for commerce Abdul Razak Dawood is waiting for a ‘green single’ from the relevant US authorities for his visit, the number of detained and held-up containers by the US customs has risen to over 300.
These containers loaded with millions of dollars worth of textile and apparel imports which are mostly related to Christmas eve would lose their utility and worth after Dec 25, 2001, exporters asserted.
The US customs imposed embargo on several ‘hot cake’ textile and apparel categories after recording over-shipments in early November.
Ever since the US Customs began imposing embargo and detaining containers, the minister for commerce had been planning to rush to US in order to get a negotiated release of the containers.
However, exporters claim they were given assurances by the Ministry of Commerce early October that negotiation with US government over greater market access and tariff reduction would be held and there would be no problem of over-shipments.
Similarly, US importers were also assured by the Department of State and Commerce that they could continue to import textiles from Pakistan this year even though many quota categories were rapidly hitting the ceiling.
The situation took ugly turn after over 300 containers loaded with such category of textile and apparel imports reached US ports, and their quotas have exhausted. The US Customs early November started detaining shipments by imposing embargo on the plea of over-shipment.
The US customs had detained the shipments and refused to release them, claiming importers will have to wait until the new quota period on January 1, 2002 begins, the vice chairman, Pakistan Knitwear Exporters’ Association Anis Marfani said.
On the other hand both the US government and Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce became silent spectators knowing that many exporters as well as importers would go bankrupt or will have to suffer huge losses.
Exporters ask as to why Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Quota Supervisory Council (QSC) had allowed over programming of quotas in anticipation that the US government will give greater market access to Pakistan textiles.
“I would say that now the issue is dead and no amount of efforts could save exporters of these consignments from huge losses as close holidays in US for Christmas start from Friday, December 21,” lamented the chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) Mohammaed Kamran Chandna.
In order to achieve some good results out of negotiations with the US government during the Minister for Commerce’s visit in October two consultants were hired for image building and for quota achievements.
Both the consultants — Fleishman Hillard and Rosenberg— had been paid huge amount of $100,000 each in advance for media campaign and quota consultancy respectively. Though both of them are making big claims about their respective achievements but ground realities does not reflect as such, exporters said.