Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told the Jatiya Sangsad on Monday that the United States has never granted duty-free and quota-free facilities for garment imports from Bangladesh.
The Minister made these remarks during a Q&A period during the budget debate in Parliament.
In response to a query from Jatiya Party chief whip Mujibul Haque Chunnu, the Minister stated that the import duty levied by the United States on garment products is uniform for Bangladesh and other competing countries under the World Trade Organization’s Most Favoured Nation policy.
‘Even while Bangladesh was under the US GSP facility, garment products were excluded from the MFN policy. Without this advantage, the United States has become the single largest market for Bangladesh’s garment exports through open competition,’ he said.
The US has not yet reinstated its GSP facility for Bangladesh, which expired in December 2020, according to the Minister, who added that diplomatic efforts by the Government are underway to include Bangladesh in the GSP facility and put garment products under the GSP.
He stated that Bangladesh frequently expresses this issue during the Bangladesh-United States Annual Trade Dialogue.
Furthermore, he said that the Bangladesh Government has increased the demand for duty-free access to the US market for garments and textile products made with cotton imported from the United States.
