Yet once the global quota system for textiles is removed in 2005, rich countries may resort to trade-remedy rules to protect themselves from increases in textile imports from poor countries.

ECONOMIST: Trade-remedy laws are damaging the world trade system

This is home to 74 factories that produce mainly textiles and electronic gadgets for export--duty-free and quota-free--to the U.S. These factories make up what is called a qualifying industrial zone (QIZ), an entity designated by the U.S. in 1996 to help increase imports from Jordan.

FORBES: Issues & Ideas

The rush to Bangladesh began in earnest in 2005, when an international trade quota system called the Multi Fiber Arrangement expired, lifting the strict limit on the amount of textiles and garments developing countries could export to developed countries.

WSJ: American Taste for Cheap Clothes Fed Bangladesh Boom