Tofail, BGMEA refute Mozena's zero-tariff claim
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday refuted the US ambassador's claim that Bangladesh pays no tariff on the export of apparel products to the American market.
“We are not getting any tariff facilities from the US," the minister said.
Ahmed's comments came just a day after Dan W Mozena at a meeting at the National Press Club said that Bangladesh does not pay the tariff on apparel exports to his country, rather it is paid by the US consumers.
“Bangladesh pays Z E R O, zero, zero, zero tariffs,” Mozena categorically told reporters on Bangladesh's claim that it pays $800 million as tariff for exports of apparel products to the American market each year.
The ambassador had also said that he asked the Bangladesh government to show him the cheques it sent to America for paying the tariff, but it could not.
The minister termed the zero-tariff claim of the envoy "totally baseless". “His statement was false, false…false,” Ahmed said, in a similar tone to that of the ambassador.
The minister's comments came at a function of the Bangladesh Indenting Agents' Association (BIAA) held at the CIRDAP auditorium yesterday. BIAA organised the event to celebrate receiving the ISO 9001 certification as the first business support association in Bangladesh.
The minister said Bangladesh has to pay 16-18 percent tariff for apparel exports to the US market.
Ahmed also refuted the envoy's remarks on the US not giving trade benefits to any nation, as the US is giving special trade benefits to African countries.
On the restoration of the GSP status, the minister said Bangladesh has fulfilled all 16 conditions imposed by the US government after the Rana Plaza building collapse.
Ahmed said the US is not taking any step to restore the trade benefit and it is putting forward fresh conditions.
Meanwhile, apparel makers' platform Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) yesterday also clarified the current position in duty payment on apparel exports to the US, in response to the envoy's statement.
The BGMEA stated that Bangladesh is required to pay 15.62 percent duty on exports to the US markets; in 2013, Bangladesh paid $828.42 million in duties to US customs to export goods worth $5.3 billion in 2013.
Bangladesh is the 46th largest trading partner of the US, but in terms of duty payment, the country stands second, the BGMEA statement said.
Although Bangladesh enjoys a zero-duty benefit from some developed economies like the EU, Canada, Japan and Australia, it needs to pay duties to the US, the BGMEA said.
Bangladesh pays higher duties compared to its competitors; Vietnam pays 8.38 percent duty, Indonesia 6.3 percent and China pays 3.08 percent in duties to the US, according to the BGMEA statement.
On the US ambassador's claim on zero tariff, KMH Shahidul Haque, president of BIAA, told The Daily Star that Bangladesh of course pays tariff ranging between 16 and 18.25 percent for the export of readymade garments to the US market.
“Otherwise, we would have a competitive edge over other nations and the volume of our exports to the US would have been much higher than now,” Haque said.
The commerce minister assured BIAA that he will take immediate steps to include the association's works as 'service export' in the current export policy for 2012-2015.
The president of BIAA said indenting agents are bridging businesses between foreign exporters and importers of Bangladesh to ensure marketing of quality products in Bangladesh.
Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Sheikh Kabir Hossain, president of Bangladesh Insurance Association, were also present.
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