The Ghana government has been urged by the Textiles, Garment and Leather Employees (T''GLEU) Union to help the local textile industry and to save the sector industry from collapse by enforcing the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations by suspending importation of textiles.

The General Secretary of the union, Abraham Koomson made this appeal at a press conference held here. Most importers of textile allegedly engage in smuggling activities, which do not only deprive the state of huge sums of revenue but also destroys the local industry, T''GLEU claimed.

Koomson said, "The press briefing held by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu at the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) headquarters only lamented on the issues facing the industry but failed to address them".

Ministry of Finance and the CEPS held a joint press conference in Accra a day earlier to announce a programme to clamp down on the smuggling of imported goods especially textiles. The measure includes paying surprise visits to shops and markets and strengthening the security agencies to police the country''s porous entry points.

Koomson said the WTO regulations state that: "A WTO member may restrict import of a product temporarily (take safeguard actions) if its domestic industry is injured or threatened with injury caused by a surge in imports."