Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) Council meeting is going to be held today (April 21) in Dhaka. According to sources in the Ministry of Commerce, in this meeting, Bangladesh will request the United States to provide duty-free and quota-free market facilities for Bangladeshi clothing made from US cotton.
According to sources, in the meeting, Bangladesh will also request the US Food and Drug Administration to facilitate the registration process of Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products. Bangladesh made the same request in the TIKFA meeting held in Washington last November, but the US did not respond to it.
An official of the Ministry of Commerce said that the United States is interested in increasing the export of cotton to Bangladesh. According to their proposal, the double fumigation system has been abolished in the import of cotton from the United States. Due to this, the import of cotton from the United States is increasing a lot, he said.
According to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, the market share of US cotton in Bangladesh was 9 percent two years ago. It has now increased to about 14 percent after the abolition of the double fumigation system.
In this context, Dhaka has decided to argue that RMG products produced in Bangladesh using cotton imported from the US should be given duty-free export facilities. However, Bangladesh has decided not to make any request for the restoration of GSP facilities in the country’s market.
Although the cotton import from the US is increasing, Bangladesh’s garment export to the country is decreasing. According to the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) data published on April 4, Bangladesh’s garment exports to the United States in the last two months of January-February were 1.18 billion dollars—which is 19.24 percent less than the same period last year. Its amount was 1.46 billion dollars in January-February last year.
The US imported 395.69 million square meters of garments from Bangladesh in January-February this year—about 12.79 percent less than the 453.73 million square meters shipped in January-February 2023.
A delegation of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has already arrived in Bangladesh to attend the TIKFA meeting. This meeting will be held at noon today in the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce. Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, will lead the meeting on behalf of Bangladesh.
An official of the Ministry of Commerce said that Bangladesh’s labor rights issue will be given utmost importance by the United States in the meeting. For this reason, the country will insist on revising the labor law, increasing trade union registration and increasing the inclusion of workers in trade unions.
After the Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013, the US suspended Bangladesh’s GSP facility. Based on the discussion, Dhaka signed the TIKFA agreement with the United States in November of that year with the aim of expanding bilateral business and trade with the restoration of GSP facilities.
The US has included issues such as draft data protection law, draft regulations for digital, social media, OTT platforms and other digital measures on their agenda.
The meeting also has various labor rights issues on the US agenda, including freedom of association and collective bargaining, safe and healthy working conditions, labor rights in EPZs, child labor and forced labor. The US will also discuss intellectual property rights.
On the other hand, Bangladesh will seek technical assistance from the United States in building a standard certification infrastructure.
After the Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013, the United States suspended Bangladesh’s GSP facility. Based on the discussion, Dhaka signed the TIKFA agreement with the United States in November of that year with the aim of expanding bilateral business and trade with the restoration of GSP facilities.
