port tax on the carpet. In 1999, the United States was instrumental in the passing of a treaty at the International Labor Organizations convention in Geneva that sought to bring a worldwide end to this problem. The treaty was then sent to Congress where it was passed and then signed by the president. Although some of these plans might be affective, it must be made certain that they are not counter-productive. An article in the London Observer reported that in a response to American pressures, thousands of children in Bangladesh were let go and left to the streets. The West, particularly the Americans, are overzealous. In trying to protect the children from hardship, they are making them undergo even worse hardship, Bangladeshs Finance Minister Saifur Rahman stated. Although there have been major strides of progress in the area of child labor in the last decade, the problem is far from solved. An effort must be made to inform consumers and regulate companies so that a finger can be pointed at those companies who continue to take advantage of the children in these developing nations....
