AFP, Washington

A hading US Senator charged Thursday US lawmakers failed to halt a surge in apparel and textile imports hom Myanmar, where he said workers are being abused by a brutal military regime."

Senator I homas Harkin also vowed to introduce legislation to ban all apparel and textile imports Irotn Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- and called for immediate congivssinnal hearings into US-Myanmar commercial tics.

flu Iowa smaim cited a cable sent last July from the US Embassy in Myanmar to the State Department revealing such brand-name US companies as I HA. lordache and Arrow Gulf are increasingly

tinning to Myanmar lor manufacturing, where workers ty pically (Min seven cents an hour and factor les Slav open 2 I hours a day.

"Il is outrageous (hat 103 million dollars Irom American apparel imports Iasi year alone went straight into (he collets ol Burma s brutal military regime," Harkin said.

T will introduce legislation soon to ban all apparel and textile imports from Burma."

Hai kin said he had iequested a copy of the cable from the State Department in November and then had to wail nearly four months to obtain what his office described as "very damaging in-fm m.ition."

I he cable revealed strong evi-

dence that our sanctions policy in Bui ma has been lar more apparent ihan real." his office said in a statement, adding Washington had. in elfecl. allowed the military regime easy access to the US apparel market.

I he United Stales banned new US investment in Myanmar in 1997. Since then, according to Hatkin, US apparel imports from the country’ have increased 372 per cent.

Since our diplomats in Rangoon blew the whistle last July," the statement said. "US policymakers in the State Department and elsewhere in Washington have done nothing to bring our policy in line with our rheloi ic."

The cable said garment manu-

facturers in Hong Kong. South Korya ind Taiwan subcontract ordcis that cannot be filled under theii own U.S quota restrictions io factories in Myanmar.

"US quotas on Burmese gar-ment imports are high enough that they have never been reached," the cable said.

Simon Billenness. a Myanmar analyst with Trillium Asset Management in Boston, asserted for eign linns doing business in the country are directly financing "the military's purchase of weapons used to deny its citizens basic rights."

"Virtually all foreign companies must enter into joint ventures with the military government's slate-owned enterprises."