Chief trade negotiator for the administration of US President Donald Trump, the US Trade Representative or USTR has sought list of brands and retailers who are said to have cancelled work orders placed with the Bangladesh readymade garment industry on account of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to media reports, during a recent virtual meeting of Bangladesh’s representatives with the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) Council, a senior official of the USTR expressed its (USTR) willingness to carry out this initiative, following which the US Government is expected to call upon entities to accept shipments of the previously cancelled orders.
As per the apex garment makers’ body of Bangladesh (the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association- BGMEA), a large chunk of work orders has either been cancelled/withheld at sea ports or deferred by US-based brands and retailers, who have allegedly shown reluctance to receive the shipments citing existing economic uncertainty.
In the said virtual meeting, the issue of reinstatement of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), which was taken back by the US administration in 2013, citing poor labour rights and working conditions in the backdrop of the Rana Plaza disaster, was also reportedly discussed.
