Bangladesh and the United States will discuss a range of issues this week in Dhaka impacting the bilateral trade relationship between the two countries, including market access, labor rights, trade policies, intellectual property issues and investment climate.
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and acting Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch will co-chair the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) Council on September 20.
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Both delegations will include officials from trade, labor, agriculture, and other relevant ministries.
This is going to be the 7th round of TICFA meetings between Bangladesh and the US.
The United States and Bangladesh have formally engaged on trade issues since the U.S.-Bangladesh TICFA entered into force in 2013.
The last meeting was held in Washington on December 6, 2022. In that meeting, Bangladesh proposed zero tariff on finished apparel products — made with American cotton — being exported to the US.
Bangladesh is likely to reiterate its request for preferential market access during the meeting, officials said.
US Ambassador Peter Haas has recently said Bangladesh and the United States can “go fastest together” in building trade and investment relationship between the two countries.
“I truly believe it. This is not just talk,” he said, noting that the United States is willing to go as fast as Bangladesh is prepared to, towards deepening and expanding the bilateral partnership.
Bangladesh has achieved steady growth over the past decade and is set to graduate into a developing country by 2026.
With surging domestic demand, growing service and industry sectors and steady investment in digitization, the country will continue to attract foreign investments,” he said.