Bangladesh will once again try to persuade the United States and other developed countries to allow duty-free access to garment products, at the upcoming World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) summit.

“We are trying to get duty-free entry for garment items to the US,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told reporters while talking about the country's preparations to attend the 10th WTO ministerial conference in Kenya from December 15-18, 2015.

According to Ahmed, Bangladesh is one of the highest tax paying nations in the American market and the country's garment exports to the US have maintained buoyant growth. The higher rate of duty and suspension of trade privileges could not stop the growth of garment exports to the US. Ahmed, who is also the coordinator for the least-developed countries (LDCs) in the WTO summit, will lead the 19-member Bangladesh delegation.

According to the WTO's fifth ministerial conference in Hong Kong in 2005, the developed countries were supposed to give duty-free access to 97 per cent of products originating in the LDCs. The duty-free package was also gradually supposed to become 100 per cent from 97 per cent. Many developed and developing countries have already started allowing duty-free access to all products from the LDCs, including Bangladesh except the US.

Bangladesh's garment exports to the US increased 17.58 percent year-on-year to $1.81 billion between July and October, according to the Export Promotion Bureau. Garment exports also increased 2.85 percent year-on-year to $5.29 billion in the last fiscal year.

Wto.org Mincom.gov.bd