Ticfa meet today: Dhaka again to urge duty-free access for US cotton-made apparel

Bangladesh is going to request the United States for duty-free, quota-free market access for Bangladeshi apparel produced from US cotton to its market, during a Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) Council meeting slated for today in Dhaka, according to commerce ministry sources.

At the meeting, Bangladesh will also request the United States Food and Drug Administration to simplify the procedure for the registration of Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products, said the sources.

During the Ticfa meeting held in Washington last November, Bangladesh made the same requests, but the US did not respond to them.

An official of the commerce ministry told The Business Standard that the United States is interested in increasing cotton exports to Bangladesh. Following their proposal, the country has abolished the double fumigation system for cotton imports from the United States.

Because of this, the import of cotton from the country is increasing significantly, he said.

According to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, the market share of US cotton in Bangladesh was 9% two years ago. It has now increased to about 14% after the abolition of double fumigation.

In this context, Bangladesh has decided to present a strong argument that the United States should provide duty-free export facilities to RMG products manufactured in Bangladesh using cotton imported from the US. However, Bangladesh has decided not to make any request for the reinstatement of the GSP facility in the country's market.

Bangladesh's apparel exports to the US are decreasing despite the increase in cotton imports from the country. According to data published by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) on 4 April, Bangladesh's garment exports to the United States were $1.18 billion in January-February, which is 19.24% less than the same period last year. In January-February last year, the amount was $1.46 billion.

The US imported 395.69 million square metres of apparel items from Bangladesh in the January-February period this year -- which is about 12.79% lower than the 453.73 million square metres shipped in January-February of 2023.

A delegation from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has already arrived in Bangladesh to attend the Ticfa meeting. The meeting will be held in the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce this afternoon.

Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, will lead the Bangladesh team in the meeting.

An official of the Ministry of Commerce said that the issue of labour rights in Bangladesh will be given the most importance by the United States in the meeting. For this reason, the country will insist on revising the labour laws, increasing trade union registrations, and enhancing the inclusion of workers in trade unions.

The US side has included issues such as the draft data protection act, draft regulation for digital, social media, OTT platforms, and other digital measures in its agenda.

The US agenda for the meeting also includes several issues regarding labour rights including freedom of association and collective bargaining, safe and healthy working environment, labour rights in EPZ, child labour, and forced labour.

In addition, the US will discuss the issue of intellectual property rights.

On the other hand, Bangladesh will seek technical assistance from the US in building quality certification infrastructure.

After the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013, the US suspended Bangladesh's GSP facility. Dhaka signed the Ticfa agreement with the United States in November of that year with the aim of expanding bilateral business and trade and to restore GSP facilities.