“We will discuss bilateral trade issues with US representatives at the meeting, including the GSP (generalised system of preferences) issue,” said Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, senior secretary to the commerce ministry.Michael J Delany, assistant US Trade Representative for South Asia, is scheduled to lead the US side at the meeting.Members of the delegation will be finalised after the US general elections on November 8, Mamoon said.The Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa), a platform to discuss bilateral trade issues between Bangladesh and the US, was signed after the collapse of Rana Plaza building in April 2013, mainly to regain the trade benefit.Under the agreement, both the countries hold an annual meeting to call upon the respective governments to remove trade disputes, if any.Of Bangladesh’s total exports, only 0.54 percent worth $24 million used to get GSP facility in the US market a year.Products like dried fish, ceramics items and plastic goods enjoyed the benefit but not the main export earner apparel.Bangladesh has been lobbying with the US government for the reinstatement of the GSP which was suspended due to serious shortcomings in workplace safety and poor labour rights in June 2013.The United States Trade Representative (USTR), the chief trade negotiation body of the US government, also gave 16 conditions to be fulfilled by the Bangladesh government and the private sector for the reinstatement of the GSP.The commerce ministry of Bangladesh has already submitted the progress report on the fulfillment of the 16 conditions to the USTR twice, but the Obama Administration did not renew the trade privilege and said the country needs to do more to get the duty benefit.To fulfil the 16 conditions, Bangladesh amended the labour law in July 2013 with the provision of full freedom of association by the workers at the factory level, inspection of fire, electrical and structural safety by the Accord, Alliance and the National Initiative.The launch of hotlines in the factory and publishing a publicly accessible website on the details of the garment factories, recruitment of nearly 300 new factory inspectors, and strengthening the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments were also some measures taken.The government has also withdrawn cases against two labour leaders and confiscated the assets of the absconding suspected killer of labour leader Aminul Islam to fulfil the conditions.The US is Bangladesh’s single largest export destination. Bangladesh exports mainly garment items to the US, and the item accounts for nearly 95 percent of the total exports to the American market.Earlier, the first Ticfa meeting was held in Dhaka in April 2014 and the second one was held in Washington in November last year.In the second meeting, the US discussed market access for goods and services, and the tariff structure on fire, electrical and structural equipment, as Bangladesh would have to import those items.Matters related to public tender specification, insurance of labour, cotton, diabetic drugs, currency exchange rates and delayed payment, and intellectual property rights were also discussed in the second Ticfa meeting.
