IBFB Hosts Roundtable on Strengthening USA-Bangladesh Trade Ties3 min read
International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) organized a round table discussion titled “Revamping USA-Bangladesh Trade” on Saturday at the conference room, IBFB office, Tejgaon in the capital.
Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Special Assistant, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, attend the roundtable as the Chief Guest while IBFB President Lutfunnisa Saudia Khan chaired the session, said in press release.
Addressing the session as the chief guest, Dr. Anisujjaman Chowdhury stressed need to have policy co-ordination, policy independence and to find out effective way of negotiation to tackle the challenges in the world trade.
He said the USA will administer the world trade so we have to create strong lobby with US and we have to bring out a new traction to coup up with the changed situation.
“International circumstances are now different, we have to build self confidence and ultimately we have to bring diversification in our economy. The government will form a specialized trade negotiation body ahead of graduation”, Dr. Chowdhury added.
Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman & CEO, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) presented keynote paper on the occasion.
Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Syed Ershad Ahmed, President, American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Director, Research, Bangladesh International institute of Strategy Studies (BIISS) as distinguished speakers at this discussion.
Noted economist Dr. Sattar, in his keynote, mentioned as baseline tariff currently there have flat 10% across all imports which is shocking.
Read more: Bangladesh’s Apparel Exports Surge In US And EU, But Unit Prices Take A Hit
He said the variable tariff rates applied to top 60 trading partners and higher tariffs imposed on nations considered “Worst Trade Offenders”. US Tariff on China 30% & China Tariff on US is 10% while 25% for Canada and Mexico
Suggesting to go for negotiation strategy, he said engaging U.S. to reduce tariffs on key U.S. export items like agri-products, machinery, autos, he said focusing on low-revenue items (cotton, scrap metal tariffs already near-zero), MFN basis and lower own tariffs on non-RMG items (e.g. footwear) to reduce anti-export bias
He mentioned that the trade diversion could benefit Bangladesh due to China’s tariff burden (54%) while there will be risk of global GDP shrinking by 1%, trade by 3%; Asia particularly vulnerable
In terms of RMG sector actions, Dr. Zaidi Sattar suggested collaborate with buyers to share increased costs mentioning that limited bargaining power makes price adjustment critical.
Citing that the China and US are the two largest economies in the world, he said that the US, at $26 Tr, commands a quarter of world GDP while China is next, with $16 Tr. The two make up over 40% of world GDP. The two are also the largest trading economies in the world; 33% of world trade; China the largest exporter, US the largest importer.
Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, CPD, suggested stressed strengthening negotiating capacity, mentioning that we can sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with US but it will not be so easy.
“US Tariff is called reciprocal but in fact it is irrational and one-sided. We need to bring the tariff issue in the TICFA platform but we are not still ready for that”, Mostafiz added.
Addressing as the session chair, IBFB President Lutfunnisa Saudia Khan said the USA is a major trade partner of Bangladesh, especially as a leading market for our exports mainly in the Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector.
She said the suspension of GSP benefits and the rise of protectionist policies in recent years have impacted our competitiveness in key sectors like garments, leather and light manufacturing-hurting export performance, slowing job growth and affecting investor sentiment.
BIISS Research Director Dr Mahfuz Kabir said TICFA is the proper platform to discuss the issue and begin negotiating process.
“I believe that signing agreements like IPF or FTA will not be effective “, he added.
Chairman of the Governmental Relation and Advocacy Committee of IBFB, M.S. Siddiqui moderated the roundtable discussion while representatives from different chambers and trade bodies and business leaders participated in the open discussion session.
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