Travel  |  Business World  |  Women's World  |  Entertainment

Change Your Life!

Bangladesh may get preferential trade with US in 9 months

News
Sports
Chat
Travel
Dhaka Today
Yellow Pages
Higher Education
Ask a Doctor
Weather
Currency Rate
Horoscope
E-Cards
B2K Poll
Comment on the Site
B2K Club

February 11, 2001 

Dhaka-- (Bangla2000) – Bangladesh is likely to get duty-and quota-free market access to USA in next nine months and thus avert a setback the country’s 76 percent export-earning sector was poised to face.

Some 33 Sub-Saharan countries were provided with the preferential trade facility under a new US law, Trade Development Act (TDA) 2000, leaving out Bangladesh.

“We’ll be able to get the same facility within next 6-9 months. We are trying hard to get this,” BGMEA vice-president Annisul Huq told newsmen on Friday night.

He said BGMEA appointed consultants to show the way of reaching the target and managed some lobbyists to make a Bangladesh Caucus with Senate members to place a bill in this regard in the next US Congress. The process was delayed due to the US elections.

“We are very concerned about it as business will shift from Bangladesh to the countries that enjoy the TDA 2000,” said the eminent garment entrepreneur.

For example, he said, Bangladesh recently lost an export order to Jordan even quoting 20 per cent less than actual prices due to their duty-free access.

“For Bangladesh days are getting hard due to increased pressures from customers,” he said, because the United States is the single-largest buyer of Bangladesh apparels.

Now, he said, EU is putting pressure not to extend working hour over 60 hours a week, which the manufacturers need to do for covering the loss hours of political programmes like hartal.

However, if Bangladesh gets the facilities, there will be no sick industries and RMG exports would be double provided the act stands as it is, said Annisul Huq, who is leading the Forum panel in the BGMEA election 2001-2002.

Forum submitted nomination papers for all the posts. Sammilita Parisad, Progressive Forum and Members council also submitted nomination papers to contest the election.

Send This News to a Friend