Bangladesh should negotiate with Britain for continuing duty-free market access under GSP scheme and with US for regaining the facility following the emerging developments after Brexit decision and Donald Trump’s presidency, experts said on Monday. At a meeting on ‘Bangladesh in the wake of changing global macroeconomic environment,’ they also said that the government should also improve the country’s investment and business climate for attracting more foreign direct investment into the country. Adequate FDI will help the country face the possible difficulties during the new development in Britain and the US, the experts observed.The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh arranged the meeting at Hotel Westin in Dhaka.Once Brexit decision, under which Britain voted to leave European Union, is implemented, Bangladesh will lose duty-free and quota-free market access to that country while there are speculations that Donald Trump will follow protectionism policy in trade regulations.The US is the single largest export market of Bangladesh’s readymade garment product while Britain is the third largest one. At the meeting, finance former adviser to the interim government AB Mirza Azizul Islam said that there were apprehensions that both the developments would put adverse impact on Bangladesh’s export.The DFQF facility under Everything But Arms scheme in the European market will not be applicable automatically in the Britain market once Brexit is implemented as the country will soon leave the EU bloc, he said.‘Bangladesh should start negotiations with the country for regaining the market access,’ Mirza Aziz, also a noted economist, said. He, however, said that there were some uncertainties regarding the US market during Trump presidency.Bangladesh’s export will be affected if Trump goes through his trade protectionism policy and imposes higher tariff on import. ‘There is a hope that his all anger is against China,’ Mirza Aziz added. He also requested the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority to initiate discussions with local entrepreneurs to take an ‘indigenous programme’ like other countries to replace foreign nationals working in the country with local manpower to reduce remittance outflows.Bangladesh Enterprise Institute president Farooq Sobhan emphasised on continuing discussions with the new US administration for regaining the DFQF access to the market for Bangladeshi products, particularly readymade garment items.The US suspended DFQF market access, known as generalised system of preferences or GSP, for Bangladesh in June 2013, though the RMG products, the main export item to the country, would not get the benefit.‘Bangladesh should get GSP facility for RMG products at least for those portions which are produced from cotton imported from the US,’ he said.Farooq, also a former foreign secretary, said that the government should also improve overall investment climate to attract more FDI particularly from China and the US in infrastructure and oil and gas exploration sectors respectively.Former foreign secretary and former chief information commissioner Muhammad Zamir also stressed on starting negotiations with Britain to regain the GSP facility for Bangladesh’s product to the market in post-Brexit era.The emphasis should also be on producing high-value RMG product, diversification in export items, improving regional and global value chain and removing complexities in export procedures to overcome the difficulties during the developments in the US and Britain, he said.AmCham president Md Nurul Islam presided over the meeting while its executive director Shahadat Hossen made welcome speech.
