Bangladesh’s apex garment makers’ body, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), with the aim to receive advisory services and set strategies in its efforts to extend the preferential market access into the European Union (EU) once Bangladesh graduates from the group of least developed countries (LDCs), has signed a deal with the global law firm Sidley Austin LLP. Underlining that the law firm’s (Sidley Austin) lawyers would advise the BGMEA on preparing arguments and strategies to prolong the preferential market access to the EU as the trade benefits would be no longer available to Bangladesh after its LDC graduation, the President of the garment makers’ body Dr. Rubana Huq said it would also assist the traders’ body (BGMEA) to develop policy briefs to be submitted to the Government. As per media reports, Sidley Austin LLP (which is the eleventh largest US-based corporate law firm) and the BGMEA on 12 December signed an agreement to prepare arguments and strategies for prolonging the duty-free market access into the EU. This is with a focus on the ongoing General System of Preferences (GSP) reform discussions and BREXIT, the document of the agreement reportedly maintained. Further, underlining that the first meeting in this regard was held on Wednesday, convened by Sidley and attended by herself, Economic Relations Division’s Support to Sustainable Graduation Project trade consultant and Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission member Mostafa Abid Khan, Sidley Director Colette van der Ven, the BGMEA President reportedly maintained that they signed the agreement with Sidley to receive the law firm’s pro bono services under the firm’s Trade for Development Initiative, Emerging Enterprises pro bono programme. It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh’s graduation from LDC to a developing nation in 2024 is set to mark the end of the GSP (a component of which is the EU’s Everything But Arms initiative) even as the country has been trying to have its current GSP status extended past 2027, more so considering the significance of the EU market, which is Bangladesh’s largest trading bloc.
