The National Knitwear & Sportswear Association, Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees and Apparel Contractors Alliance of California on September 10 blasted a U.S. trade bill sponsored with the stated intent of spurring economic growth in the Caribbean and Central America:

Instead it is likely to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into the pockets of large apparel corporations such as Cayman Islands-based Fruit of the Loom, Inc. and Chicago-based Sara Lee Corp., according to a coalition of small and mid-sized apparel companies and garment workers protesting the deal, they said;

"With a growing sense of betrayal, critics of the Caribbean Free Trade Bill (S. 1387), which will see Congressional action shortly, argue that it will take US$1 billion out of the federal treasury over the next five years and that most of the money will go to enhance the profits of companies such as offshore apparel companies and American retailers instead of workers or governments in the Caribbean Basin," they said;

The proposed bill would eliminate tariffs on clothing and certain other goods imported to the U.S. from 27 countries in the Caribbean Islands and Central America. Proponents of the bill have claimed it is necessary as humanitarian aid to victims of Hurricanes Georges and Mitch, which harmed four of these countries last fall but left 23 without serious damage. Details: Seth Bodner of National Knitwear and Sportswear Association, 908-468-8196; or Ann Hoffman of UNITE, 202-255-1391.