Fear of US trade ban: Govt looking into the matter seriously

The United States recently issued a presidential memorandum announcing punitive measures against labor rights violators. As a result, the concerned authority in this sector feared that the country could face trade fines and visa restrictions over labor issues.

On the contrary, the government said that Bangladesh will not face such situation. However, the Ministry of Commerce arranged a high-level meeting giving importance to the matter.

The US Presidential Memorandum was rolled out on 16 November. A letter was sent to the Ministry of Commerce on November 20 from the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington. The letter expressed concern that Bangladesh could be one of the possible targets of the memorandum.

It is known that considering the overall context including the letter from the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, a meeting has been organized to determine what to do in this regard on Monday (December 4).

Top officials from the commerce ministry’s export wing, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Law, Ministry of External Affairs, Prime Minister's Office, Export Processing Zone (BEPZA), Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), BGMEA, BKMEA leaders, and others will attend the meeting.

The US memorandum was announced at a time when garment workers were protesting in Bangladesh over minimum wages. In that context, the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington sent a letter to the Ministry of Commerce expressing some concerns.

Concerned authority said that Bangladesh does not want to fall under US restrictions on labor issues. They want to hold the market of ready-made garments, the main export sector of the country. For this reason, Bangladesh has decided to do everything.

The garment sector has been making a great contribution to the economy of Bangladesh. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladeshi products worth USD 970 crore were exported to the United States in the last financial year 2022-23. Of them, USD 851 crore came from readymade garment exports.

Commerce Ministry Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said that there is nothing to worry about the US labor policy. Bangladesh does not get any special benefits from USA in terms of trade. We get duty-free benefits in the European Union. We export our products to the US paying more than 15 percent duty. So, there is no condition to impose trade ban against Bangladesh.

He also said that the US labor policy is for all countries. This is nothing new. I think they reminded all countries again regarding the issue. It has no connection with Bangladesh’s elections.

Following the issue, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday night said there is nothing to worry about the presidential memorandum. We will present our position regarding the matter. I am always hopeful.