Bangladesh has proposed zero tariff on finished apparel products — made with American cotton — being exported to the US. Bangladesh made the proposal at the 6th meeting of the US-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) held in Washington DC on December 6. Compared to other countries, Bangladesh now pays the highest tariff on its apparel products exported to the United States, which profusely reduces Bangladesh’s competitiveness in the US market. Also read: US for increasing collaboration among stakeholders in Bangladesh RMG sector Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, and Christopher Wilson, Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia, led the Bangladesh and US delegations respectively at the meeting. The head of US delegation Wilson agreed to continue further discussion on the proposal made by Bangladesh. The Bangladesh side also included Labour Secretary Md. Ehsan-E-Elahi, Agriculture Secretary Md. Sayedul Islam, Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Muhammad Imran and high officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce and the ICT Division. Read More: BGMEA delegation meets US State Department official to discuss RMG issues At the outset of the meeting, Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi stepped in and welcomed the Bangladesh delegation to the 6th TICFA meeting in Washington. Sarah said that Bangladesh's socioeconomic strides have made the TICFA meeting more relevant than any other time for both countries.