The Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) governed the world trade in textiles and garments from 1974 through 1994, imposing quotas on the amount developing countries could export to developed countries.
Its successor, the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), expired on 1 January 2005.
The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing provided for the gradual dismantling of the quotas that existed under the MFA.
It turns out that even in the face of other economic giants, Bangladesh's labor is "cheaper than anywhere else in the world."
While some smaller factories were documented making pay cuts and layoffs, most downsizing was essentially speculative – the orders for goods kept coming even after the MFA expired.