Babies’ garments and clothing accessories, excluding babies’ gloves, mittens and mitts of categories 10 and 87, and babies’ stockings, socks and sockettes, other than knitted or crocheted, of category 88

Stockings, socks and sockettes, not knitted or crocheted; other clothing accessories, parts of garments or of clothing accessories other than for babies, other than knitted or crocheted

Babies’ garments and clothing accessories, excluding babies’ gloves, mittens and mitts of categories 10 and 87, and babies’ stockings, socks and sockettes, other than knitted or crocheted, of category 88

B. whereas Bangladesh has become the second largest exporter of garments in the world after China, with the lowest garment wages, the textile sector providing for almost 80 % of the country’s exports, with the EU being its major export market, and whereas the production pressure in the international textile market, characterised by low costs and quick turnaround, make Bangladesh’s work force a particularly vulnerable target;

2. Is deeply concerned about the recurring phenomenon of textile factory fires in Bangladesh and other low-wage garment-producing countries such as Pakistan;

14. Calls on the Commission to study the impact of the full liberalisation of the textile and clothing sector, particularly on the least developed countries which had been advised by the World Bank and other financial institutions to invest in the export clothing sector; is particularly concerned about the abolition of basic social and labour rights which some least developed countries apply in order to remain competitive; calls on the Commission to evaluate how Aid-for-Trade and similar programmes can help LDCs to engage in socially and environmentally sustainable sectoral programs; calls on the Commission to evaluate the usefulness of su ...[+++]pply-side management tools for the clothing sector, in order to level global competition and to prevent from a race to the bottom of social and environmental standards;