BGMEA has sought duty-free facilities for the export of ready-made garments to the US market made of cotton imported from the United States. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan sent three separate letters to US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas, Texas State Governor Greg Abbott, and Texas State Senator Ted Cruz on Monday.
The BGMEA president has pointed out in the letter that both countries will benefit from duty-free garment exports to the United States.
In the letter, he said, according to the information from the World Trade Organization, Bangladesh’s readymade garment export share is 6.37 percent in the world market. In 2022, Bangladesh exported $45.71 billion worth of garments, while cotton garments accounted for $32.86 billion, which is 71.89 percent of Bangladesh’s total exports of RMG.
Almost 99% of cotton is imported for the RMG industry making Bangladesh the second largest cotton importing country and a significant portion is imported from the United States, the letter read.
The letter highlighted the latest statistics on garment exports and cotton imports and said that the United States imported garments worth $9.74 billion from Bangladesh last year, of which cotton-made garments accounted $6.91 billion or 71 percent.
On the other hand, the United States imported $47.51 billion worth of cotton garments from the whole world last year, while Bangladesh’s share is 14.54 percent. It appears that Bangladesh is one of the largest sources of imports of cotton garments in the United States.
Recently, the fumigation process of US cotton at Bangladesh ports has been simplified which will facilitate and increase the cotton import from the US and reduce costs. If duty-free facilities are given to the export of Bangladeshi garments to the US market, Bangladesh’s garment exports to the US will increase, which in turn will increase the country’s cotton exports, the letter read also.
Faruque Hassan wrote in the letter that in 2022, The US importers had to pay $1.55 billion worth of duty to import $9.74 billion worth of apparel from Bangladesh. The average duty on all imported products from Bangladesh was amongst the highest in 2022, and the import tariff on clothing items from Bangladesh was even higher.
In such a context, the letter has sought duty-free facilities for the export of garments made using cotton imported from the United States to the country. If this facility is available, business between the two countries will increase. The country’s cotton producers will also benefit. At the same time, US consumers, especially those with limited incomes, can buy clothes at lower prices.
The letter requested to take appropriate measures to provide duty-free access to US cotton garments in the US market. BGMEA will also request the Ministry of Commerce of Bangladesh to discuss this matter with the US government and the US Embassy in Dhaka.
