Robert Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Committee of Foreign Relations, has said the US would not buy clothes from Bangladesh as they were stained with the blood of Bangladeshi workers. The senator went on to threaten that soon, the “made in Bangladesh” label may become “tarnished beyond repair” in the eyes of Western buyers.
While we agree that the BGMEA should do everything it can to improve labour and safety standards in the garment industry, we find the senator’s admonition to be hypocritical and counterproductive. The US has been importing clothing from Bangladesh for quite some time, happily exploiting many of the realities of our business sector for its own gain. To now suddenly boycott Bangladeshi RMG products serves the interests of neither country.
The garment sector is a key economic driver of Bangladesh. Despite the imperfections of the industry, the sector employs millions of poor people and makes up a significant portion of our GDP. Foreign retailers have been all too happy to buy cheap clothing from Bangladesh while making steep profits in their own local markets.
Senator Menendez’s threat smacks of insincerity and political opportunism. The fact is that US retailers who squeeze every last cent out of RMG manufacturers are every bit as culpable for the plight of Bangladeshi garment workers. Threatening to put millions out of work is no solution, it is simply political posturing and moral grandstanding under the guise of humanitarian concern. If Menendez cared one whit about Bangladeshi garment workers he would not make such unhelpful and incendiary comments.
Let us hope that the senator’s words do not at all reflect either the prevailing sentiment or the policy direction in Washington.
