Pakistan faces labour law problems
AFP, Karachi
Pakistan's vital textile industry could suffer from the imminent end of import quotas as international rivals seek to exploit the country's widespread disregard for labour and environment laws, analysts say. Quotas on textiles, the mainstay of Pakistan's 12-billion-dollar exports, finish at the end of the year under a 1994 agreement. They ensured that developing countries had access to the key European Union and US markets. But while industry figures expect Pakistan to see some benefits from free trade, they say strict World Trade Organisation (WTO) laws starting in 2006 could allow China and India to cause a fuss about Pakistani working practices. China, the world's largest exporter of clothing with a 28 percent share of the market, is expected to be the main winner from the disappearance of quotas. India and Pakistan also stand to benefit because of their large domestic markets, Jean-Paul Sajhau, head of textiles and clothing at the International Labor Organisation, said recently.
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