BKMEA requests German support for extension of GSP grace period
BKMEA Vice President Shamim Ehsan requested German support for the extension of the grace period of the generalised system of preferences (GSP) during a bilateral meeting with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) Germany in Berlin on Sunday (27 August).
"We are much aware of SCDDA (German Due Diligence Act), and we introduced the Responsible Business Hub (RBH) in BKMEA accordingly to train our members unit with the support of GIZ," he said.
During the meeting, both parties discussed different areas of bilateral trade, specifically the newly introduced German Due Diligence Law and its importance in future trade, garment product export, potential partnership and other related policies to facilitate the trade, especially the extension of the grace period of the current GSP in post-Covid and Russia-Ukraine wartime.
This meeting is a milestone towards enhancing the prospects of Bangladesh's apparel export in the German market.
From the BKMEA side, the delegation included Executive President Mohammad Hatem, Vice President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, Amal Podder, Mohammad Rashed and Md Samsuzzaman. Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh led the delegation team.
The German government side was led by Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Michael Kellner.
The state secretary of the federal ministry of Germany mentioned the new German law for due diligence and also LDC graduation.
Mohammad Hatem thanked BMWK for hosting the BKMEA team in the Federal Ministry and assured BKMEA will continue its drive to make the Bangladeshi apparel sector more compliant and sustainable.
He also thanked GIZ for its support in the due process of knitwear sector development in Bangladesh.
Saiful Islam, commercial counsellor of the Bangladesh Embassy in Berlin, coordinated the meeting.