The exporters have proposed the governments of the United States (US) and Brazil for considering duty-free market access for the Bangladeshi readymade garment (RMG) products made from cotton imported from these two countries.
The Bangladesh Gar-ment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has recently sent separate letters to the authorities of the US and Brazil with the proposal, said BGMEA sources. According to BGMEA sources, Bangladesh im-ports 2.96 million bales of cotton every year from USA and Brazil.
The proposal signed by BGMEA President Siddi-qur Rahman, sent to the US ambassador to Bangla-desh on February 16 and another was sent to the Foreign Ministry of Bang-ladesh on February 19, requested to take government-to-government initiative between Bang-ladesh and Brazil on the issue.
In the letter to the US ambassador, the BGMEA said that Bang-ladesh was the second largest cotton importer in the world and the country had long been importing cotton from the US to make apparels for exports.
Citing statistics, the BGMEA said that Bang-ladesh's total global import of cotton in 2004 was 29.65 lakh bales and the country imported from the US only 1.01 lakh bales in the year.
"We firmly believe that cotton import from the US will rise significantly if the apparel products made of the US cotton receive a favorable treatment in terms of tariff in accessing the US market," the BGMEA said in the letter.
It also proposed that the US government should extend duty-free market access for the Bangladeshi products made from the cotton of US origin saying that such a measure would create a win-win situation for the bilateral trade between the two countries.
"We would deeply appreciate if you pay serious attention to the proposal and take it up with the competent authorities of the US government," the BGMEA said in its letter to the US ambassador.
The BGMEA made the same proposal to Brazil and requested the Bangladesh foreign ministry to negotiate the issue with the South American nation.
The apparel sector's apex trade body said that Brazil was a very potential market for Bangladesh's apparel products but 30 to 35 percent import duty put in place by Brazil was an obstacle to accessing the market. We need to find a way to secure duty-free access to the Brazilian market,' the trade body said in its letter to the foreign ministry.
Citing a decision taken at the ministerial conference of World Trade Organization (WTO) in Hong Kong in 2005, the BGMEA said, "As a large developing economy and also as a member of BRICS, Brazil may look into our request for duty-free market access for the apparel products made from cotton of Brazil origin."
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