Economic Dialogue in US: Dhaka to seek reinstatement of trade benefit

The US will push for labour reforms and cotton exports to Bangladesh, while Dhaka plans to seek reinstatement of the GSP trade benefit during the High-Level Economic Partnership Dialogue in Washington DC, to be held today.

The dialogue will also discuss issues of the US' newly announced Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, which has been joined by 12 countries. Washington expects Bangladesh to join as well.

For the dialogue, Prime Minister's Adviser for Private Industry and Investment Salman F Rahman is leading the Bangladesh delegation, comprised of officials of ministries of finance, commerce, and foreign affairs, and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority.

"The dialogue will be focusing on trade and economy. And obviously, we will seek reinstatement of GSP. We will also seek investment from the US for enhancing our coastal embankment work and technology for renewable energy," a foreign ministry official told The Daily Star yesterday.

The US is now the single largest export destination of Bangladeshi products, mainly ready-made garments, worth $8 billion a year. The country, however, suspended the generalised preferential system (GSP), a trade benefit following the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013.

Since then, Bangladesh has repeatedly requested for the reinstatement of GSP, but to no avail.

At a meeting in early April in Washington, Foreign Minister Abdul Momen told USAID Administrator Samantha Power that Bangladesh was in need of funding for infrastructure development.

In reply, she said that Bangladesh could avail funds through the US International Development Finance Corporation, but that would require improving labour rights.

At DCAB Talk on Tuesday, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas clarified that they will definitely discuss the labour issues in the upcoming dialogue.

A foreign ministry official said Bangladesh has signed all labour-related international protocols and has progressed much in the labour sector since the Rana Plaza incident.

In the dialogue, Washington would want Dhaka to amend the law that restricts import of US cotton without double fumigation. Haas at DCAB Talk said the disagreement over fumigation has been there for 20 years.