USTR alleges Bangladesh breached IPR rules

The United States Trade Representative (USTR), the American government's chief trade negotiating body, sent a letter to Bangladesh alleging that intellectual property rights (IPRs) rules on the export of garments, footwear and electronic goods to the American markets have been violated.

The commerce ministry also responded to the allegations of the USTR on Monday night, Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary to the commerce ministry, told The Daily Star over the phone.

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Bangladesh, as a least-developed country (LDC), has been enjoying some benefits under the IPR rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), said the reply.

Bangladesh will strictly abide by the IPR once it makes the United Nations status graduation from an LDC to a developing nation in 2026, Rahman quoted the reply as saying.

Bangladesh is getting ready to follow the IPR rules, he said.

On February 10, the USTR sent a letter to the commerce ministry alleging that the IPR of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) had been violated.

The AAFA and the USTR regularly check if products that are imported to the US have been produced flouting IPR rules.

The US is the single-largest export destination for Bangladesh where the local suppliers exported goods worth more than $10 billion last fiscal year of which 95 per cent were garment items.