'Bangladesh to seek US duty benefit again in next Ticfa meet'

Bangladesh will again urged the Biden administration for giving duty-free market access to the American markets as the local exporters have been facing one of the highest duties in the USA, Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said today.

Ghosh said he will raise the demand at the sixth edition of the two-day Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa), which will start in Dhaka on September 11.

At the Ticfa, the United States Trade Representative, the chief trade negotiating body of the American government, may raise issues like labour rights, intellectual property rights and other trade related issues.

However, the main issue of discussion of Bangladesh will be the duty-free or reduction of duty on exports to the US markets, Ghosh said.

Currently, the local exporters, especially the garment makers, face 15.62 per cent duty on export to the USA, which is one of the highest.

Ghosh said Bangladesh has already withdrawn the mandatory rule of double fumigation of US cotton, which was a long-time of the American government.

So, this time Bangladesh will raise the duty-free issue in the Ticfa meeting.

In December last year, the fifth round of the Ticfa meeting was held in Washington.