Oddly, that growth has occurred in part because of American diplomatic cold-shouldering of Myanmar. No agreement has been negotiated on a bilateral quota for apparel, like the ones the United States has with most other developing countries. Manufacturers from China and elsewhere have set up shop in Myanmar specifically to exploit the loophole. The labor organization's fruitless effort to take a strong stand against Myanmar has shed a harsh light on its lack of enforcement power. At the March meeting of the organization's governing body, American officials worried publicly about its ineffectiveness.
Details have yet to be negotiated.
The Bush administration has said it opposes the direct linking of trade issues and worker safeguards. Many developing nations prefer to leave the issue of labor standards to the labor organization, while trade unions and workers' rights activists want the World Trade Organization to have jurisdiction because the trade group's dispute-settlement system has the power to authorize trade sanctions. Some on Capitol Hill would like to force the issue by enacting a ban on textile imports from Myanmar, which would probably provoke a complaint to the World Trade Organization. In late May, Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, introduced such a bill in the Senate. The labor organization is scheduled to discuss Myanmar again at its annual meeting on Tuesday.