Govt to bring up trade benefits at Ticfa meeting in Washington

The government will highlight progress in workplace safety in an effort to regain trade benefits, at the second Ticfa meeting to be held in Washington next month.

“A delegation from Bangladesh is expected to leave for Washington to attend the Ticfa meeting on November 30,” said Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, senior secretary to the commerce ministry.

The US will host the second Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement meeting; the first was held in Dhaka in April 2014, according to the rules of agreement.

The second meeting of Ticfa, an annual dialogue platform signed in 2013 for settlement of any trade dispute between the US and Bangladesh, was supposed to be held in Washington in May, but it was deferred for a number of reasons.

“The ministry is still preparing the agenda for discussion at the meeting. Investment issues will also be brought up,” Mamoon said.

Bangladesh pays 15.62 percent duties on apparel exports to the US, as it does not allow a duty-free benefit to Bangladesh, which will also be part of the agenda.

Among its competitors, Bangladesh is one of the top duty payers to the US. Bangladesh had demanded the duty benefit at the first Ticfa meeting last year as well.

China pays 3.08 percent in duty to the US for garment exports, while Vietnam pays 8.38 percent, India 2.29 percent, Turkey 3.57 percent and Indonesia 6.30 percent.

Bangladesh fulfilled most of the 16 conditions given by the US in its action plan for workplace safety and labour rights and submitted the progress report to the American government twice.

The United States Trade Representative, the chief trade negotiation body of the US, suspended the generalised system of preferences or GSP for Bangladesh in 2013, citing serious shortcomings in workplace safety and labour rights.

At the first meeting, the US discussed market access for goods and services, and tariff structure of fire, electrical and structural equipment, as Bangladesh will have to import those items.

The matters tied to public tender specification, insurance of labour, cotton, diabetic drugs, currency exchange and delayed payment, and intellectual property rights were also discussed.

Regional economic development, steering committee of Ticfa on labour affairs, establishment of Ticfa women's economic employment committee and review of Ticfa discussion were also on the agenda.

The top export categories for the US include machinery, cotton, yarn and fabric, electrical machinery, iron and steel, grain, seed, and fruit. Bangladesh's main export item to the US is garments, which makes up 95 percent of total exports to the US in a year.

In fiscal 2013-14, Bangladesh's exported goods of $5.59 billion to the US and imported products of $801.1 million, up from $5.41 billion and $537.80 million respectively in the previous year, according to the commerce ministry.