Bangladesh further demanded duty-free access to the American markets for the locally made garments made from US cotton, media reported citing Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh.
Bangladesh placed the demand in a meeting with the senior officials of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) at the secretary’s office in the capital.
Commerce secretary also said Bangladesh lifted the rule of mandatory fumigation of US cotton this month and, in reciprocity, the South Asian nation asked for unique access to the locally produced apparel.
He said that Bangladesh made the same in the last meeting of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) held in Washington in December last year.
The secretary shared the information with the media at a press conference after the meeting with the senior officials of the USTR.
The US government usually does not allow duty-free access to garment items imported from any country.
However, fumigation is still mandatory for raw cotton brought in from other North American countries, as those are not scientifically tested like the ones imported from the USA.
In the meeting, the USTR officials complained about the export of counterfeit goods from Bangladesh to the USA.
The Commerce secretary said there is no chance of sending any counterfeit goods from Bangladesh to the USA and the EU as different organizations audit the consignments at different levels before final shipments.
The USTR also stressed the need for improving the business climate to attract more American investment to Bangladesh, he said.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has also been demanding duty-free market access to the USA for garment items made from American cotton.
The BGMEA had already sent letters last month to different state governors and senators of the USA demanding the facility.
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