NPDA likely to be passed in Congress

Congressman Jim McDermott, who recently introduced the bill 'The New Partnership for Development Act 2007' (NPDA) in the US Congress, has expressed optimism about the passage of the bill.
If the bill is passed, the least developed countries (LDCs) including Bangladesh would get duty- and quota-free access of their ready made garments (RMG) to the US market.
Bangladesh would be able to fetch more export earnings from the USA, the largest export market for Bangladesh RMG manufacturers, on getting such a facility.
According to a press statement of the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC, the US Congressman made the remark at a meeting with a delegation of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at the Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
McDermott told the team that a number of trade-related bills now await Congress' consideration and the NPDA may be sequenced in following the passage of those bills.
However, the Congressman requested the visiting BGMEA team to continue improving their compliance credentials so that concerns in some quarters in the USA could be addressed.
He also appreciated Bangladesh's achievement in the field of women empowerment and gender parity in education.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Humayun Kabir appreciated the Congressman for his leadership and hoped that this would help uplift the conditions of hardworking people in Bangladesh and in the developing world.
BGMEA President Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez thanked the Congressman to help alleviate poverty in the developing world.
The BGMEA delegation also met with Congressmen Ron Lewis, John Conyers, Adam Smith and Keith Ellison. The delegation apprised the Congressmen of the latest situation in the RMG industries in Bangladesh and urged the Congressmen to extend their support for the expeditious passage of the bill.
The bill has rekindled a new ray of hope to millions of Bangladesh RMG workers, mostly women, for the betterment of their personal life and greater stability and moderation in the society as a whole.