The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) urged on Tuesday outgoing US Ambassador in Dhaka, Marcia Bernicat, to lobby for duty free access to the US market for apparel products made of American cotton in Bangladesh .
BGMEA President Md Siddiqur Rahman made the request at a farewell lunch for Bernicat, hosted by the BGMEA at its office in Dhaka.
“Bangladesh imports a huge amount of cotton from the United States and uses it to make garment products, of which significant portions are shipped back to the US as finished goods,” Siddiqur said.
He also asked the US envoy to help ensure a fair price for Bangladeshi exports to the US, for the sake of the livelihoods of garment workers.
“If Bangladeshi apparel products made from American cotton get duty free access to the US market, both readymade garment (RMG) manufacturers and cotton growers will benefit. Consumers will also benefit as they will be able to buy the products at reasonable prices,” the BGMEA leader added.
The BGMEA also called for reinstatement of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade facilities for Bangladeshi goods, which were suspended in June 2013.
According to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Bangladesh imported 459,000 bales of cotton from the US in the last fiscal year, which amounted to 6.85% of the country’s total cotton imports of 6,700,000 bales.
Addressing the event, US Ambassador Bernicat said: ““Since 2013, with the help of Accord and Alliance, you have dramatically transformed your garment and apparel factories, making them among the safest in the world.”
“I realize this was a difficult and expensive process, but it will continue to pay off for years to come, if you don’t become complacent,” she added.
She further said the current challenges for the Bangladesh RMG sector were to complete remediation of the factories under the National Action Plan, and to maintain the progress at the Accord and Alliance factories.
Bernicat also congratulated Bangladesh for already meeting all three UN criteria necessary for graduating from LDC status in 2024.
“Continued economic development and growth depends on Bangladesh remaining vigilant and continuing to address issues like factory safety and labor rights,” she added.
Bangladeshi exporters are among the highest tariff payers among the 232 exporting nations to the US, as the North American country imposes substantial import taxes on apparel and footwear, according to findings by a Pew Research Center report.
For Bangladesh, tariffs were 15.2% of the value of all its shipments.
