The embassy in a letter to the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce said as the tenure of the 109th US congress has already ended, validity of all the pending bills, including the Tariff Relief Assistance for Developing Economies Bill 2005, lapsed.

Commercial Councilor Kazi Md Shamsul Alam on December 17, 2006 in his letter said, "The bill has to be reintroduced in the 110th Congress."

The bill was first tabled in the US Congress on February 17, 2005.

Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe and Bangladesh Caucus Chairman in US Congress Joseph Crowley of Democratic Party tabled the bill seeking a duty-free access of Bangladesh products and 13 other least developed countries (LDCs) to the United States.

Annisul Huq, former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said he does not know anything about the matter.

"If any bill is tabled it gets processed automatically. But we will contact our lobbyist firm soon to enquire of the issue," Huq added.

SM Fazlul Hoque, president of BGMEA, also admitted his ignorance about the latest development of the bill.

"Please, give me time to know the matter in detail. I am not sure whether the bill is required to be placed afresh or just to resume in the new congress," he added.

A high official of the Ministry of Commerce said they got the message and discussed about it.

"We are contemplating to convene a meeting soon in this connection to make the BGMEA people aware of the development, if any,'' the official added.

BGMEA is the lead organiser of the bill as Bangladesh is the only significant RMG exporting country among the 14 LDCs that export the item to the US.

The 13 other least developed countries are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Laos, the Maldives, Nepal, Samoa, Solomon Islands, East Timor, Tuvalu and Yemen.

The BGMEA withheld the contract with the US lobbyist firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. (ST&R) from mid 2006 due to excessive service charge as complained by thousands of the association members who do not export to the US market, sources said.

The BGMEA appointed Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg, widely known as STR, another lobbyist firm based in Washington DC, from June 2004 with an approximate cost of US$25,000 per month for trying to convince the US senators in favour of the bill.

Annisul Huq said, "If necessary, we will revive the contract with the ST&R soon.

Earlier, the BGMEA engaged Pattern Box, a lobbyist firm for US$12,000 per month in August 2001. It also pays US$3,000 monthly to one Sabbir Ahmed, a Bangladeshi lawyer residing in the USA, for the same purpose.