Bangladesh expresses worry over US trade bill

Bangladesh has expressed concern over the USA's planned international trade agreement with 11 Pacific Rim countries, as least developed countries like Bangladesh may lose market shares in the US if the pact is passed.

Mohammad Ziauddin, Bangladesh's ambassador to the US, expressed Dhaka's worry over the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP while meeting separately with US Congressmen Brad Sherman and Tom Marino at the Capitol Hill on June 15 and 16 respectively.

Sherman is the ranking member of the subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee and Marino is the chairman of the subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Commercial and Antitrust Law.

As a least-developed country, Bangladesh does not receive any special or deferential treatment from the US in trade and commerce, Ziauddin said.

The US is a major destination for Bangladeshi products, mainly garments, receiving nearly one fourth of the country's total exports.

Bangladesh apparel is subjected to high tariffs in the US as opposed to zero tariffs to almost all other least-developed countries.

Of the four million garment workers, about 90 percent are women, whose employment accelerated the process of women empowerment and socio-economic development in Bangladesh.

At this juncture, to encourage the women empowerment and socio-economic growth partner, the US should grant the same preferential market access for Bangladeshi products as accorded to other developing countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, Ziauddin said.

The US should reinstate the GSP benefits for Bangladesh, he said in a statement. Talks are ongoing between the US and 11 other Pacific Rim nations for the deal.

The group comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

The TPP will make Vietnam's apparel exports to the US more competitive, at the expense of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Standard Chartered said in an analysis in January.

The analysis focused on the apparel sector as the garment sector is the mainstay of all three economies' industrial output and export revenue.

The apparel sector is critical for Bangladesh as it accounts for more than 80 percent of exports, 35 percent of industrial production, and 60 percent of foreign direct investment inflows to the manufacturing sector. It also employs 40 percent of the industrial workforce.

The extent of the impact will depend on how sourcing requirements are structured. Flexible sourcing rules could enable Vietnam to overtake Bangladesh in apparel market share by 2024, according to the StanChart analysis.

On Friday, Democrats in the US House of Representatives derailed the passage of the trade package by voting down a provision to aid American workers displaced by trade deal, despite supporting it on principle.

The goal was to slow down the broader legislative package, which includes the fast-track negotiating authority for which President Barack Obama has been calling for nearly two years.

The US is negotiating the TPP to boost its economic growth, support American jobs and manufacture Made-in-America products for exporting to some of the most dynamic and fastest growing countries in the world.

As the cornerstone of Obama administration's economic policy in the Asia Pacific, the TPP reflects the US's economic priorities and values.

The TPP not only seeks to provide new and meaningful market access for American goods and services exports, but will also set high-standard rules for trade and address vital 21st-century issues within the global economy.