BD to sit with USA for talks under Ticfa in Nov

Bangladesh is expected to sit with the United States in Washington in November for bilateral talks under the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ticfa) umbrella amid disappointments over the denial of GSP facility for export.
Sources said the US has informed Bangladesh through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to keep last week of November free to have the bilateral meet, second such since the much-talked-about Ticfa deal was signed in November 2013.
"As we are yet to receive any fresh information, we are hopeful about holding the next Ticfa meeting any day in the last week of November," said an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He expects the date to be announced within a week or two.
He said agenda for the next Ticfa meeting will be fixed after discussions with the stakeholders, including readymade garment owners, as there is frustration in the country for not getting the GSP (generalised system of preferences) facility despite meeting all the 16 conditions in the US-set action plan endorsed during the first Ticfa meeting.
The official, however, said agenda of the second Ticfa meeting would be finalised after US side's comment as they will also have their own outline.
Bangladesh and the US signed the Ticfa on November 25, 2013 in Washington after almost a decade-long negotiation, creating a forum to address issues such as environment, intellectual property protection, workers' rights and safety, and economic empowerment of women.
The first meeting was held in Dhaka end of April 2014 when an action plan and compact was formulated to bolster trade and investment between the two countries as it followed the tragic incident of Rana Plaza building collapse in the garment sector.
Though Assistant United States Trade Representative Michael J Delane, during his visit here last September, expressed the US interest to hold the next Ticfa talks soon, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, however, expressed his frustration over such meeting sans GSP restoration.
"Ticfa will be meaningless if GSP is not restored as we've fulfilled the conditions laid down in the Bangladesh Action Plan," Mr Tofail told reporters after a meeting with the US Trade Representative delegation at his office.
The United States is the single-largest export market for Bangladeshi products, including readymade garments. But Bangladesh considers the issue of facing higher duty than other Asian countries, including Vietnam, a matter of "discrimination".
Sources said the USTR was now demanding the formation of an umbrella association comprising all the welfare associations in the industries located in the country's export-processing zones (EPZs).
Earlier, they had demanded trade unions in the EPZ industries.
The commerce minister claimed the 16 conditions, including workers' safety, freedom of association and safety of labour-right activists, tied to restoration of the GSP facility on the US market, were already met.
But the US trade representative pointed out a number of issues to be addressed before getting back the trade benefit as they said the goals of the GSP Action Plan and the Compact are important.
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