Bangladesh 'should lobby with US in politically-prudent way'
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
FE Report
Bangladesh should lobby with American policy makers in a politically-prudent way to reap benefits from a new bill, seeking trade preferences for the poorer nations, officials and trade experts said Monday.
They said if the country's negotiating strategy lacks political reality, it will not bring tangible results as the United States has tied strategic issues to the New Partnership for Development Act (NPDA)-2007.
"The challenge is fairly large … Political concerns are very much there (bill)," commerce advisor Hossain Zillur Rahman said.
"Our negotiating strategy should not only be technically sound, but be a politically-intelligent one. As a small country, we can gain much if we pursue in a capable manner," he told a dialogue in the city, organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a think tank.
The NPDA, introduced on October 18, 2007 by Congressman James McDermott, is designed to provide duty-free access of products originating from the least-developed countries (LDCs) to the market of the world's biggest economy.
The US remains a major destination for Bangladesh's apparel products, accounting for one-third of the country's such exports. In fiscal 2007, the country shipped around $3.4 billion worth merchandise to the US market, with the share of ready-made garments being $3.0 billion.
The bill, which appears to have favoured African countries and linked to human rights, labour standards and other non-trade issues, still awaits passage by the US House of Representatives.
The commerce advisor said this bill was not prepared on "moral grounds," rather political concerns were inserted into it.
Rehman Sobhan, executive chairman of CPD, also said the US is seeking to serve its strategic interests using trade as a tool as it did in case of foreign aid in the past.
He said access to the US market would be determined by political and strategic choices, rather than competitiveness.
"Being the world's largest economy, the US is trying to use trade as a global strategic resource as it is no longer a dominant player on the foreign aid front," Cambridge-trained political economist told the audience.
Pouring scorn on the US's political agenda, the CPD chief said it is increasingly becoming "uncomfortable" with the open, competitive global trade system. "The US is distorting the global trade system. And the new bill will generate nightmare for poorer countries."
Referring to the discriminatory provisions in the bill, president of International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh Mahbubur Rahman said the country should not be punished for its remarkable success in the apparel sector.
The bill has proposed 35 per cent rules of origin for Bangladesh and Cambodia, while that has been capped at 25 per cent for African countries.
Presenting the keynote paper, CPD's executive director Mustafizur Rahman said non-trade issues and delisting eight categories of apparel items from the preferences would harm Bangladesh's interests.
Rahman, a foreign trade analyst, said the government should persuade American lawmakers and non-resident Bangladeshis to lobby for the passage of the bill before the US elections to ensure the continuation of trade preferences.
Hamid Rashid, a senior foreign ministry official, said the proposed bill is not a "gift" by the US as it is believed to be so.
He urged Washington to de-link, political pluralism, human rights and labour standard issues from the bill.
Bangladesh should lobby with American policy makers in a politically-prudent way to reap benefits from a new bill, seeking trade preferences for the poorer nations, officials and trade experts said Monday.
They said if the country's negotiating strategy lacks political reality, it will not bring tangible results as the United States has tied strategic issues to the New Partnership for Development Act (NPDA)-2007.
"The challenge is fairly large … Political concerns are very much there (bill)," commerce advisor Hossain Zillur Rahman said.
"Our negotiating strategy should not only be technically sound, but be a politically-intelligent one. As a small country, we can gain much if we pursue in a capable manner," he told a dialogue in the city, organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a think tank.
The NPDA, introduced on October 18, 2007 by Congressman James McDermott, is designed to provide duty-free access of products originating from the least-developed countries (LDCs) to the market of the world's biggest economy.
The US remains a major destination for Bangladesh's apparel products, accounting for one-third of the country's such exports. In fiscal 2007, the country shipped around $3.4 billion worth merchandise to the US market, with the share of ready-made garments being $3.0 billion.
The bill, which appears to have favoured African countries and linked to human rights, labour standards and other non-trade issues, still awaits passage by the US House of Representatives.
The commerce advisor said this bill was not prepared on "moral grounds," rather political concerns were inserted into it.
Rehman Sobhan, executive chairman of CPD, also said the US is seeking to serve its strategic interests using trade as a tool as it did in case of foreign aid in the past.
He said access to the US market would be determined by political and strategic choices, rather than competitiveness.
"Being the world's largest economy, the US is trying to use trade as a global strategic resource as it is no longer a dominant player on the foreign aid front," Cambridge-trained political economist told the audience.
Pouring scorn on the US's political agenda, the CPD chief said it is increasingly becoming "uncomfortable" with the open, competitive global trade system. "The US is distorting the global trade system. And the new bill will generate nightmare for poorer countries."
Referring to the discriminatory provisions in the bill, president of International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh Mahbubur Rahman said the country should not be punished for its remarkable success in the apparel sector.
The bill has proposed 35 per cent rules of origin for Bangladesh and Cambodia, while that has been capped at 25 per cent for African countries.
Presenting the keynote paper, CPD's executive director Mustafizur Rahman said non-trade issues and delisting eight categories of apparel items from the preferences would harm Bangladesh's interests.
Rahman, a foreign trade analyst, said the government should persuade American lawmakers and non-resident Bangladeshis to lobby for the passage of the bill before the US elections to ensure the continuation of trade preferences.
Hamid Rashid, a senior foreign ministry official, said the proposed bill is not a "gift" by the US as it is believed to be so.
He urged Washington to de-link, political pluralism, human rights and labour standard issues from the bill.