[chottala.com] No Ticfa, no market access: Mozena

No Ticfa, no market access: Mozena

Dhaka, Jul 28 (bdnews24.com) – US ambassador in Dhaka has once again
made it clear that Bangladesh would not get duty-free access of its
products to the United States market unless Trade and Investment
Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) was signed.

Dan W. Mozana told Bangladesh's business leaders on Saturday that the
issue would be resolved through 'political process' and said that the
best way for Bangladesh was to makes its case, referring to labour
rights and Ticfa issue.

He termed Ticfa negotiation an 'inexplicably irritant' issue. "What's
wrong with it?" he asked and said, "I see no wrong [in Ticfa]."

After four years of negotiation, the ambassador said, it did not
progress giving a perception to Washington that Dhaka was 'walking
back from its international labour obligations.'

Bangladesh has long been pursuing the case of duty-free access of its
products particularly apparels to the US market, the single largest
export destination of the South Asian country.

Officials said most of the Bangladeshi goods have duty-free access to
the US market, but the list does not include garment, the main
exportable good.

The ambassador on Jun 6 at a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh
Garments Manufacturers and Exporters' Association said the duty-free
access was 'a kind of issue that will be raised in the forum to be
created after Ticfa is signed.'

The US envoy on Saturday was speaking at a discussion meeting styled
'Bangladesh-USA bilateral trade: the way forward' at the Dhaka Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) where he also said Bangladesh's
political situation and bureaucracy stood in the way of foreign
investment, despite its potentials to draw investors.

The total trade volume between the two countries is around $6billion,
according to latest available official statistics.

DCCI president Asif Ibrahim in his presentation sought US ambassador's
support to get duty-free access of Bangladeshi products including
apparel under GSP programme.

Citing Bangladesh's 'enormous' resources and opportunities, the
ambassador asked business leaders not to argue that Bangladesh was
poor. 'It's a rich country because of its natural resources and its
people'.

"My advice to you is to make environment favourable to Washington," he
said, "Bangladesh needs to deliver a powerful message that Bangladesh
does support labour rights."

"Pursuing ambassadors would not solve the GSP or other business issues."
He said the AFL–CIO petitioned to abolish GSP in Bangladesh as the
country did not 'uphold labour rights' after the murder of a labour
activist Aminul Islam who was associated with the AFL-CIO affiliate,
USG-supported Solidarity Center in Dhaka. Washington has been pushing
Dhaka to resolve the murder case.

However, the DCCI president said the current negotiation of TICFA
should be conducted in such a way so that both the countries were
equally benefited. "It (Ticfa) should provide a forum to look into
each other's trade issues in a win-win position."

He, however, suggested discussing Ticfa with the private sector in
order to make it more 'transparent and business friendly'.

"We feel that we are not aware much about it (TICFA). We are in the
dark," he said.

Bangladesh currently pays on average 15.3 percent tariff for garment
products to enter the US market whereas China, world's largest apparel
supplier, pays 3 percent duty to access the same market.

Bangladesh's garment is now enjoying duty-free facility to the EU,
Canada, Japan and even China, and partially to India.

Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes, however, recently told
bdnews24.com that Ticfa was not signed as Washington was not willing
to negotiate the issue any further.

"There are some textual matters where the US side informed us that
there is no scope for further negotiations," he said.


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