The government took one and a half years to approve the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) after its draft was finalised in February last year. No changes have been made to the draft since.
Defending the delay, Commerce Minister GM Quader told the Dhaka Tribune Tuesday that it was a harmless deal but that he did not make all the decisions of the government by himself.
“The government signs an agreement when it deems appropriate. I don’t think that not signing the Ticfa has had any adverse impact on Bangladesh-US trade relationship,” he said.
However, he said, “It is difficult for me to comment on why there was a delay in approving it. I don’t make every decision by myself as there are many stakeholders involved in the process.”
Washington has signed this agreement with 92 countries including all South Asian countries except Bhutan and Bangladesh, Quader said.
He hoped that after signing it, Bangladesh would be in a better position to negotiate with one of its biggest trading partners.
The cabinet gave its nod on signing a Ticfa with the US on Monday. Bangladesh has been negotiating on the deal since 2002.
The foreign ministry will convey the resolution of the cabinet’s decision on signing the Ticfa to Washington, and it will be signed at a mutually convenient date, Quader said.
He did not make any comments on a tentative deadline, however. “Right now, I cannot tell for sure when it will be signed.”
When contacted, General Mahfuzur Rahman, director of the American desk of the foreign ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune,
“After we hear of the cabinet’s decision, we will decide how we communicate with the US side.”
On the insertion of “gradual” or “progressive” or a similar word in the preamble of the agreement, GM Quader said that Dhaka had demanded it but Washington did not agree to it.
“Later on, we understood that it was not logical to insert such words and dropped the issue.”
In a meeting with Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque in March, Assistant US Trade Representative Michael Delaney informed the Bangladeshi diplomat that Washington understands it is not possible for any country to correct its labour conditions overnight.
At the meeting, Delaney suggested that on the occasion of signing the agreement, he would make a statement acknowledging “progressive” or “gradual” implementation of workers’ right in Bangladesh.
