US textile-business leaders have been criticised for putting their commercial interests above ethical concerns in their response to the recent military coup in Honduras.
The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation dubbed as ‘disgusting’ a letter from leading US trade associations to President Obama, calling for business as usual with Honduras following the coup, which was supported by key elements of the country’s business community.
Seven trade groups, including the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the Emergency Committee for American Trade, the National Council of Textile Organizations, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel and the US Chamber of Commerce, wrote to President Obama on July 11 urging him to secure the US’s economic relationship with Honduras.
Neil Kearney, general secretary of the Brussels-based ITGLWF, said: “This approach, which overlooks democracy, civil liberties and the rule of law, is an affront to democracy and a negation of American values.
“Since the coup there has been growing concern at the threat to trade-union and popular leaders, and it appears there is a list of leaders who are threatened with detention and whose personal safety is at risk. There have been reports that on Saturday evening, two leaders of the popular opposition to the coup, Roger Ivan Bados and Ramon Garcia, were murdered in two separate incidents by unidentified gunmen.
“There is also growing concern about worsening working conditions, and in particular at efforts to claw back a wage increase ordered by President Zelaya six months ago in order to reflect the increased cost of food and other essentials. In reality the increased wage barely covered 90% of basic food needs and less than a third of a living wage covering basic needs such as food, rent, transport, education, and medical care”.
The letter from the seven trade association stressed the particular importance of Honduras for the US textile-and-apparel supply chain and called it the ‘linchpin’ to the Western Hemisphere supply chain for this sector. It added: “Honduras is the third largest market for US textile mill products (US exports were $1.4 billion in 2008), the fourth largest supplier of apparel to the US market and the largest DR-CAFTA [Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement] supplier to the United States."
