A study suggests that Bangladesh’s garment exports to the United States could potentially increase by anywhere from US $ 400 million to US $ 800 million annually if the American government were to introduce a ‘cotton GSP scheme.’

The generalised system of preferences (GSP) programme, which was adopted by the US in 1974, was designed to stimulate economic development in beneficiary countries by eliminating duties on select products from these nations.

Building on the GSP model, the study proposes that the US should waive duties on Bangladeshi apparel made from American cotton under the ‘cotton GSP scheme’ even if Bangladesh has been actively advocating for a 15.62 per cent duty waiver on apparel made using American cotton.

According to Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, the research director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, implementing this scheme could also enable the US to export cotton worth US $ 3 billion to Bangladesh over the next five to six years.

He presented these findings in a keynote paper during a seminar on trade and investment between Bangladesh and the US, organised by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) in Dhaka.

It’s worth noting that the GSP programme expired in December 2020, and the US Congress has yet to introduce a new scheme even if in recent years, both the Bangladesh government and garment manufacturers have been urging the US to provide a 15.62 per cent duty waiver on apparel made with American cotton.