13 December 2001
Byliner: Sen. Jon Kyl on Trading Terror for Textiles
(Op-ed from The Washington Times on 12/13/01) (820)
(This column is by U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, who is
a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and ranking member on
the Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government
Information. This column first appeared in The Washington Times on
December 13, 2001 and is in the public domain. No republication
restrictions.)
TRADING TERROR FOR TEXTILES
By Jon Kyl
Americans have become accustomed to thinking of the battle against
terrorism as being waged on two fronts: Afghanistan and the United
States. But the war against terrorism is also being waged in other
places, such as Pakistan, where its leaders are working hard to show
Pakistan's citizens that they made the right choice in standing with
the United States against the forces of terror.
Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led global coalition against terrorism
is of tremendous importance. It frustrates the ability for terrorists
to characterize this campaign as a war against the Muslim world. It
also gives us an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to being a
loyal friend to those nations that take risks in supporting our cause.
Unfortunately, millions of Pakistani workers risk losing their jobs,
destabilizing the economy and potentially the entire government,
because of the collateral effects of the military activity in
neighboring Afghanistan. The United States did not create this problem
for Pakistan, but we can help solve it -- and we should.
Pakistan's economy is built on exports -- mostly apparel and textiles
-- and its biggest single customer is the United States ($2.2 billion
last year). But importers in our country, worried about potential
instability in the region, have stopped ordering clothing. For the
first three weeks of October, the Pakistani government estimates that
textile orders from the United States have dropped as much as 40
percent compared with the same period a year ago. At least 10,000
workers have already lost their jobs, and Pakistan estimates it will
lose $2 billion annually in textile export revenues if U.S. buyers
don't come back.
One of Pakistan's problems is perception -- the erroneous impression
that because Pakistan is close to Afghanistan, it is also in chaos. In
fact, I visited Pakistan just a few months ago and can confirm what
other visitors and the State Department already know: Pakistan's
economy is operating normally. Factories are running, roads are open
and ships are being loaded.
The other problem is more tangible: higher costs to Pakistani
exporters and ultimately, their customers, for insurance and shipping
-- again, associated with its proximity to a war zone. The textile
industry operates on low profit margins, and if costs are higher in
one country, importers are quick to shift to another. Many leading
U.S. retailers have asked the Bush administration to find some way to
ease spiraling insurance costs for U.S. companies doing business with
Pakistan.
More substantively, the United States can help level the playing field
for Pakistan by lowering duties and easing quotas on goods imported
from that country. The European Union has already acted, announcing
Oct. 16 that it would eliminate close to $150 million in tariffs on
Pakistani clothing and increase quotas by 15 percent.
U.S. tariffs on textiles and apparel average about 17 percent.
Eliminating those tariffs would help Pakistan's exporters overcome
higher shipping and insurance costs, and also would result in lower
costs for U.S. customers.
I am encouraged that the Bush administration has asked Congress to
suspend duties on imports of Pakistani textiles and apparel. We should
act quickly. As Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's ambassador to the United
States, recently pointed out: "The time to act is now. You don't act
when an industry is dead."
You also can't choose your neighbors (and Pakistan didn't choose to be
Afghanistan's neighbor), but you can choose your friends, and Pakistan
has chosen to stand with us. The United States can and should stand
with Pakistan to help it economically.
This is not just a matter of fairness; it is a matter of enlightened
self-interest. A stable Pakistan is a crucial ally against terrorism;
if its economy collapses and its government falls, we not only lose an
ally, but we risk its replacement with a hostile government -- one
armed with nuclear weapons. Extremists currently are a small minority
in Pakistan, but unemployed workers, disillusioned over supporting the
United States, could easily swell their ranks.
We have already made one mistake in the region, turning our backs
after the Soviets retreated from Afghanistan in 1989 and leaving
Pakistan to cope with 2 million refugees and an impoverished, unstable
neighbor racked by civil war. We cannot afford to repeat the error.
For Pakistan to remain an ally, its people need jobs, and America
needs to be its customer.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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