BGMEA again seeks duty-free garment exports to US market

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has again urged the US government to allow duty-free access for garment items made from imported American cotton by reinstating its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility.

Leaders of the trade body made this demand at a meeting with senior officials of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) at the BGMEA office in Dhaka yesterday.

Brendan Lynch, assistant USTR for South and Central Asia, led the American delegation while SM Mannan Kochi, president of the BGMEA, led the Bangladeshi delegation.

At the meeting, the BGMEA also urged the USTR to put pressure on US clothing retailers and brands to increase the per unit price paid for garment items sourced from Bangladesh.

Additionally, Kochi suggested introducing a unified code of conduct for all local brands and suppliers of the US market.

Meanwhile, the USTR officials suggested improving labour rights and easing the rules for registering trade unions in Bangladesh's garments sector.

The USTR also provided 11 conditions that need to be improved in Bangladesh's labour sector to attract more US investment. The same conditions were also provided to the government of Bangladesh at a meeting with Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh in Dhaka on Sunday.

Bangladesh has been seeking duty-free access to the US market for garments made from imported American cotton for the past few years, but the US government has yet to respond.

On the other hand, the US government wants further improvement in the labour laws of Bangladesh through the required amendments as a condition for further investment.

The US is currently the single largest export destination for Bangladesh, with garment items accounting for more than 90 percent, or $8.27 billion, of total shipments last year.