Bangladesh paid $5 billion export duty to US in 5 years: Commerce minister

Bangladesh paid a walloping $5 billion duty for the entry of its goods to the US market in the last five years, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has said, seeking a duty-free access instead of GSP.

“We don’t want it (GSP)…forget about this. We already forgot,” he said, lamenting that despite fulfilling all the 16-point demands, Bangladesh did not get back the privilege which was revoked by the Obama administration in 2013 on the ground of factory safety and concern over workers' rights.

Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh or AmCham's ‘August luncheon meeting’ on Thursday, the commerce minister said, despite an LDC, Bangladesh is not allowed duty-free quota-free export to the US.

A former US ambassador, Frank Wisner, who served in Bangladesh in 1973 as the economic chief, was the key speaker at the meeting.

He hoped that Bangladesh case would find a place in the schedule in the upcoming GSP preference review this year.

The American Chamber President Nurul Islam chaired the meeting.

Explaining his position, the commerce minister said Bangladesh used to get GSP only for few items like tobacco, ceramics and plastic which altogether was only $23 million export in 2013 when the privilege was lost.

“At that time the total export was $5 billion,” he said, “Without GSP, we exported over $6 billion now and it is in our favour”.

He said Bangladesh is getting duty-free quota-free market access to all countries except the US under the 1995 WTO agreement.

“We did not get it from the US. We paid in last five years more than $5 billion as duty in the US market.”

But he said he is “very happy” for the US’s support in getting the drug patent exemption by another 17 years in the WTO’s Nairobi meeting in 2015.

“They supported us… we are grateful to them”.

The US is the largest investor in Bangladesh with $3.2 billion investments. The commerce minister invited them to invest in the special economic zones.