Bangladesh worried over US trade bill

Bangladesh has expressed concern over US trade bill on Trans Pacific Partnership, apprehending that it would lose its competitive edge in American market due to preferential treatments to the trans-pacific partners.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Mohammad Ziauddin expressed the concern at separate meetings with US Congressmen Brad Sherman (D-California) and Tom Marino (R- Pennsylvania) at the Capitol Hill in Washington on June 15 and 16 respectively, read a press release by the Bangladesh Embassy. 

Brad Sherman is the ranking member of the subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee and Tom Marino is the chairman of the subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Commercial and Antitrust Law.

During the meetings, Ziauddin briefed the Congressmen on Bangladesh’s trade relations with the US.

The envoy said as a Least Developed Country (LDC) Bangladesh does not receive any special or deferential treatment from the US in terms of trade and commerce.

The ambassador stated that the US is a major destination for Bangladeshi products mainly RMG, receiving nearly one fourth of Bangladesh’s total exports.

Bangladesh apparels are subjected to high tariff in the USA as opposed to zero tariffs to almost all other least developed countries in the world, he added.

Around 90 percent of the ready-made garment workers are women, this huge number of women employment accelerated the process of women empowerment and socio-economic development in Bangladesh, Ziauddin said.

At this juncture, to encourage the women empowerment and socio-economic growth partner, the US should grant preferential market access (duty free and quota free) for Bangladeshi products as accorded to other developing countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and reinstate the GSP facilities for Bangladesh, he said.