Since the buyers consider the compliance issue seriously, Bangladesh will highlight the issue in the first-ever European Union Business Council Bangladesh (EUBCB) meeting scheduled to be held today in the capital. The European Union Business Council Bangladesh (EUBCB) was officially launched on 4 February 2015 in Dhaka. The EUBCB is composed of key EU business representatives who are members of the national chambers of commerce, the Ambassadors and/or Heads of commercial sections of all the EU Member State missions, as well as representatives of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh. It also has a select number of members representing EU companies having a strong market presence in Bangladesh. EUBCB has been formed to act as a facilitator in dealing with trade and investment issues between the EU and Bangladesh and to play an advocacy role on issues of common interest. Some 25 members from the EU, an economic block of 28 countries, are the members of the joint business council. During the meeting, the Bangladesh side will discuss the issues including incentives what we can offer for the investors of the EU countries with a focus on the area for EU investment in Bangladesh, said a ministry official. According to officials, the meeting will also focus on identifying technical trade barriers and devising ways to resolve those for increasing trade volume as it is the prime destination of Bangladeshi products. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed is expected to inaugurate the opening session to be held at his ministry. European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon will lead the EU while private sector representative from the EU member countries and Bangladesh will join the meeting. “Buyers and retailers of the EU consider the compliance and safety issues very seriously in importing products from Bangladesh. That is why, the issue would be broadly discussed in the council meeting,” Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told the Dhaka Tribune. Among the third world country, Bangladesh has made rapid improvement in safety and compliance issues, said Mamoon. European Union is the highest importer of Bangladeshi products especially the clothing products. In the last fiscal, Bangladesh fetched US$15.90 billion exporting apparel products, which is about 60% of total RMG export. According the latest data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the last fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $17.04 billion. In the FY 2013-14, Bangladesh earned $16.38 billion. While import from the EU countries stood at $2.45 billion in the same period. The issue of safety in the country’s apparel sector came under the spotlight after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, killing more than 1,135 workers three years ago. In the aftermath of the incident, the tripartite initiatives were taken to improve safety standards in the country’s RMG sector. The tripartite inspection found less than 2% factory vulnerable, which had been closed.
