Dhaka upbeat keeping Ankara at bay
Monira Munni | Saturday, 26 March 2011
Monira Munni
Bangladesh has sent its arguments--post hearing submission-- in written form to the Turkish government in a desperate attempt to block Ankara from enforcing 'safeguard' duty on its apparel imports, officials said Thursday. "We hope to keep Turkey from enforcing its 'safeguard duty'. Something positive may happen during the upcoming visit of Turkish commerce minister," a senior Commerce Ministry official said. If the duty is imposed on apparel imports, it will deal a body blow to Bangladesh's annual shipment, he said. "We're doing everything possible to block the move", the official added. The Turkish government recently unveiled the plan to put 27 per cent safeguard taxes on apparel exports from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including Bangladesh. The steps were taken to protect its domestic manufacturers. Before imposing the safeguard measure, a bilateral hearing was held in Ankara on March 07-08 where a six-member government and private sector delegation from Bangladesh, headed by commerce secretary M Ghulam Hossain, attended. "We have sent our arguments on March 18 in the written form according to the requirements of the Turkish authority," Mohammad Hatem, vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said. "We've friendly relations with Turkey. Both of us are Muslim-majority nations. I hope Turkish government will be sympathetic to our cause," Mr Hatem said. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, if any country wants to impose such safeguard measures, it needs to inform the WTO.
Bangladesh has sent its arguments--post hearing submission-- in written form to the Turkish government in a desperate attempt to block Ankara from enforcing 'safeguard' duty on its apparel imports, officials said Thursday. "We hope to keep Turkey from enforcing its 'safeguard duty'. Something positive may happen during the upcoming visit of Turkish commerce minister," a senior Commerce Ministry official said. If the duty is imposed on apparel imports, it will deal a body blow to Bangladesh's annual shipment, he said. "We're doing everything possible to block the move", the official added. The Turkish government recently unveiled the plan to put 27 per cent safeguard taxes on apparel exports from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including Bangladesh. The steps were taken to protect its domestic manufacturers. Before imposing the safeguard measure, a bilateral hearing was held in Ankara on March 07-08 where a six-member government and private sector delegation from Bangladesh, headed by commerce secretary M Ghulam Hossain, attended. "We have sent our arguments on March 18 in the written form according to the requirements of the Turkish authority," Mohammad Hatem, vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said. "We've friendly relations with Turkey. Both of us are Muslim-majority nations. I hope Turkish government will be sympathetic to our cause," Mr Hatem said. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, if any country wants to impose such safeguard measures, it needs to inform the WTO.