‘Get lobbyist to retain free US access’

The US Congressional delegation on Sunday advised Bangladesh to appoint an lobbyist to retain duty-free access of its products to the US market, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said.

“They also want the duty-free facility Bangladesh currently enjoys to continue,” she said, “but it needs support from more congressmen and that’s why they suggested appointing lobbyist.”

The minister was speaking with journalists at her office after the luncheon meeting with the visiting four-strong delegation, led by Jack Kingston.

The delegation made the visit amid recommendations by some Congressmen to withdraw, suspend or limit the duty-free access to Bangladesh’s products to the US market under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility. Products with GSP get duty-free access.

The influential American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) appealed in October last year to revoke Bangladesh’s GSP in the wake of a factory fire that killed more than 100 workers.

According to the organisation, labour rights are not protected and fire-fighting system is not sufficient in garment and shrimp sectors and at the Export Processing Zones.

United States Trade Representative took the matter into cognisance after the AFL-CIO made the appeal.

Bangladesh was served with a notice to defend itself against the allegation on Jan 31.

This is the third time such a petition to strip Bangladesh of its duty-free market access has been filed since Bangladesh secured the facility in 2007.

Bangladesh managed to retain the facility on two previous occasions.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, this time, Bangladesh is also preparing to make its case in the Congress that is expected to hear the petition in March.

The Foreign Minister on Sunday said they had discussed issues of safety and workers rights at the clothing factories during the meeting with the congressmen.

She said Bangladesh would provide safety documents of different factories to the visiting delegation.

According to American embassy, the delegation visited a garment factory in Dhaka after meeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh is the biggest exporter to US as a single country. But the main export product to US, the readymade garment, does not enjoy the duty-free facility.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh exported goods worth $ 24 billion in 2011-12 fiscal and about 21 percent of the export, valued at around $5 billion, was made to the US.

In 2011, Bangladesh enjoyed the GSP facility for exporting products worth about $26.3 million. Items that enjoy the facility include tobacco-products, sport gears, kitchen appliances, and plastic products.