Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen urged the United States to lift import duties on Bangladeshi readymade garments produced from cotton imported from the USA and asked for increased and diversified US investment. About 14% of the total local demand for cotton in the garment industry is met by imports from the US, and the US is the primary export market for garments produced from cotton.
However, in the case of RMG exports to the US, the tariff is up to 56%.
The foreign minister said, “The USA makes the most significant foreign direct investment in BD, which is about 25% of total foreign investment.
Mainly, they are investing in energy sectors. However, it is time for the USA to diversify investment. In recent days, we have been facing difficulties in getting vaccines. Initially, the US gave us 5.5 million covid-19 vaccines, and they have committed to providing a further 29 million doses.
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US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller said, “The volume of business between Bangladesh and USA has increased by 500% in 25 years. Earlier, the trade between the two countries was mainly readymade garments, but now agricultural products and machinery have been added. US export to Bangladesh was $2.3 billion in 2019, which decreased significantly in 2020 due to Covid-19. However, the two way trade is growing again, in the first nine months of this year it increased by 33% compared to the same period of the last year.
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