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Article: Defying predictions, Bangladesh's garment factories thrive; Their exports grew by $500 million last year, despite an unfavorable change in trade law and competition from China.(WORLD)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- February 7, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Mahtab Haider Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
DHAKA, BANGLADESH -- If the global economics gurus had got it right, Sokina Begum would have been one of over 2 million garments workers in Bangladesh to become the casualties of globalization.
When Bangladesh lost its quota to export garments to the US under new international trade rules in January 2005, thousands of garments factories here were widely expected to buckle under fierce competition from cheaper Chinese exports. The UN predicted in a 2004 report that over a million women workers might be laid off from these factories.
"I attended many meetings where we were told we ...