April 16, 2003 Wednesday Home Edition

SECTION: Business; Part 3; Page 4; Business Desk

Group Calls for Ban on Myanmar Imports;
Leading organization of U.S. apparel and footwear makers joins campaign protesting human rights abuses.

BYLINE: Evelyn Iritani, Times Staff Writer

In an unusual move into controversial political terrain, leading U.S.
apparel and footwear makers Tuesday called for a ban on imports from
Myanmar, threatening that nation's key export sector and giving a powerful boost to critics of the military regime.

The 600-member American Apparel and Footwear Assn. called on the U.S. government to end imports of apparel, textiles and footwear from that troubled Asian country, saying the "repressive nature" of its military
government should be met with "condemnation from not only the international public community but from private industry as well."

Tuesday's announcement from the nation's leading apparel group followed decisions by at least 40 top U.S. retailers to stop buying goods from Myanmar. In recent months, May Department Stores Co., maternity chain Mother's Work and Burlington Coat Factory have joined Federated Department Stores Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on that list.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights is expected to adopt a resolution today condemning Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and urging the government to resume serious dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The ruling junta has become a pariah as a result of widespread political repression, violent attacks on ethnic minorities, and the use of forced labor and child labor on public projects.

U.S. retailers have been chasing cheap labor around the world for decades and have been accused of ignoring worker abuses in their quest for lower costs. But under pressure from citizens groups, retailers have become more vigilant about policing their overseas factories.

Kevin Burke, president of the apparel association, said members decided to take the unprecedented step of calling for an import ban because Myanmar's government has "total disdain" for basic human rights.

By allowing the country "to produce products and send them here, we're putting money in their pocket while they're taking money out of other people's pockets and abusing them," Burke said.

Jeremy Woodrum, coordinator of the Free Burma Coalition, said he was shocked and "extremely excited" by the news that the nation's leading retail group had joined in the boycott campaign.

California energy giant Unocal Corp., the leading U.S. company still in
Myanmar, insisted that its policy of "engagement" had created badly needed jobs and was the best way to encourage change in that country. Unocal, an investor in a $1.2-billion natural gas pipeline project, is fighting a lawsuit in state court over liability for human rights abuses that occurred during the pipeline's construction.

The U.S. has led the international effort to isolate Myanmar's military
leaders, imposing a ban on new investment in that country in 1997. Recently, State Department officials have said the U.S. would consider additional economic sanctions if the human rights situation does not improve soon.

Even with the sanctions, the U.S. still is one of Myanmar's top trading
partners. Last year the U.S. imported $350 million in goods from Myanmar, mostly apparel and textiles.