Bangladesh has expressed its concern over the US trade bill on Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP) with a fear that it might lose its competitive edge in the American market due to the preferential treatment to the trans-pacific partners. Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Mohammad Ziauddin conveyed Dhaka’s concern to the US authorities in separate meetings held with the US Congressmen Brad Sherman and Tom Marino at the Capitol Hill in Washington DC on June 15 and 16 respectively. During the meetings, Ziauddin briefed the congressmen about Bangladesh’s trade relations with the US. Being a least developed country (LDC), Bangladesh does not receive any special or deferential treatment from the US in terms of trade and commerce, Ziauddin told the US Congressmen. The US is a major destination for Bangladeshi products mainly RMG, receiving nearly one fourth of total exports but Bangladeshi apparels are subjected to a high tariff in the USA as opposed to zero tariffs to almost all other least developed countries in the world, said Ziauddin. The Bangladeshi envoy said: “Around 90% RMG workers are women, who accelerated the process of women empowerment and socio-economic development in Bangladesh.” He urged the US government to provide preferential market access for Bangladeshi products (duty free and quota free) to the US market as accorded to other developing countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and to reinstate the GSP facilities for BangladeshBangladeshi RMG. “The international community should persuade Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas from the southern part of Bangladesh,” said Bangladesh envoy while responding to Brad Sherman. Bangladesh cannot afford to host such a large number of refugees inside her territory, he said Regarding the Burmese Rohingyas, he said: “They are extremely susceptive to the religious extremist groups as there are evidences of using Rohingyas for terrorist activities.” The envoy also briefed the Congressmen on the colossal adverse effect of climate change on Bangladesh saying that climate change, a fact of life of the people of the country, is hardly of their own making, and being one of the least emitters of CO2 (with only 0.3 metric ton per capita emissions). Bangladesh is the most vulnerable to the severe effects of climate change and the present government under the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina created ‘Trust Fund’ of US$ 375 million and launched nearly 238 projects for adaptation and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change in Bangladesh, he told the US congressmen.
