Govt to sign Ticfa soon: Commerce Minister

Commerce Minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader has said Bangladesh is set to sign the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ticfa) with the United States soon.

“Many see Ticfa as a big issue which it is not. It’ll basically to create opportunities for talks on trade issues,” he said on Saturday at a programme.

The minister said talks with the US over the generalised system of preferences (GSP) was nearing its end -- slightly delayed, as it were, by the Rana Plaza collapse in Savar.

So far, nearly 1100 people, mostly female readymade garment workers have been confirmed dead in the collapse that resurrected the safety issue in Bangladesh factories.

The European Union, largest importer of Bangladesh-made garments has threatened to reconsider its GSP facility unless the South Asian nation worked on improving safety standards.

Bangladesh, the second largest exporter of readymade garments after China, is a lucrative destination for global brands due to its cheap labour and low costs. The sector employs around four million people, most of whom are workers who earn as little as $38 a month.

A fire at a garment factory last November had prompted several US lawmakers to press their government for cancelling its GSP facility with Bangladesh. Now this is up for hearing .