Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Bangladesh’s export to the US is likely to be affected if the proposed Vietnam-US Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is signed, industry insiders said on Saturday.
They said, once the trade pact is signed between the two countries, it will pave the way of duty-free export of Vietnamese products in the US markets, making Bangladeshi merchandises incompetitive.
Both Vietnam and the US are hopeful of striking the deal by the end of this year after series of negotiations.
“If the trade pact is signed, products and goods made in Vietnam will get market access in the US market, leaving an adverse impact on our export there,” Salam Murshedy, President, Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) told The New Nation on Saturday.
He says that the US is the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi products which are entering the market after paying an average 16 per cent duty there.
Garments account for 80 per cent of the country’s total export to the USA.
Salam Murshedy also said that burdened by high duty, Bangladeshi products were already facing tough challenge to compete in the US market. It is also hindering our export growth to America.
“The TPP will make the Vietnamese products more competitive than Bangladeshi ones posing further challenge for our exports to the
American market,” he said, adding, “Such a duty benefit will largely affect our apparel exports there because Vietnam has already appeared as a key rival of us in global garments trade”.
The EAB leader, however, urged the ministry concerned to conduct a study on the possible impacts of the proposed deal so that our government and exporters could take steps to keep the Bangladeshi exports unhurt in the US.
Echoing the same view, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, a former Vice-President of BGMEA told The New Nation on Saturday that if the proposed deal was signed, it would obviously hurt our garments export to the US.
“Apparel is Bangladesh’s main export item and the US is its largest destination. So, any kind of shock news from the market not only affects our export there, but it also could hit the whole apparel industry,” he warned.
The former BGMEA leader has pointed out that Vietnam has become a strong player in global apparel trade taking advantage of its booming industry. The relocation initiatives taken by the Chinese entrepreneurs helped flourish their industry.
“The increased manufacturing capacity and state support also helped the Vietnamese apparel manufacturers increase their exports sharply to the USA market,” he added.
When asked, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu said, Bangladesh has little to do if the deal is signed because it is a matter of bilateral relation between the two countries.
But what we can do is that we may persue the US authorities to get some sort of duty concession for Bangladeshi products while entering the US market.
“The government should take the initiative immediately placing it to the forum of TICFA for negotiation,” he said, adding, “If we get the facility, our exports to the US will remain unhurt and steady”.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh earned $5.783 billion from merchandise exports to the US in the immediate past fiscal 2014-15 compared with the amount of $5.583 billion in the previous fiscal (2013-14), showing a 3.57 per cent year-on-year growth.
Bangladesh’s export to the US is likely to be affected if the proposed Vietnam-US Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is signed, industry insiders said on Saturday.
They said, once the trade pact is signed between the two countries, it will pave the way of duty-free export of Vietnamese products in the US markets, making Bangladeshi merchandises incompetitive.
Both Vietnam and the US are hopeful of striking the deal by the end of this year after series of negotiations.
“If the trade pact is signed, products and goods made in Vietnam will get market access in the US market, leaving an adverse impact on our export there,” Salam Murshedy, President, Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) told The New Nation on Saturday.
He says that the US is the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi products which are entering the market after paying an average 16 per cent duty there.
Garments account for 80 per cent of the country’s total export to the USA.
Salam Murshedy also said that burdened by high duty, Bangladeshi products were already facing tough challenge to compete in the US market. It is also hindering our export growth to America.
“The TPP will make the Vietnamese products more competitive than Bangladeshi ones posing further challenge for our exports to the
American market,” he said, adding, “Such a duty benefit will largely affect our apparel exports there because Vietnam has already appeared as a key rival of us in global garments trade”.
The EAB leader, however, urged the ministry concerned to conduct a study on the possible impacts of the proposed deal so that our government and exporters could take steps to keep the Bangladeshi exports unhurt in the US.
Echoing the same view, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, a former Vice-President of BGMEA told The New Nation on Saturday that if the proposed deal was signed, it would obviously hurt our garments export to the US.
“Apparel is Bangladesh’s main export item and the US is its largest destination. So, any kind of shock news from the market not only affects our export there, but it also could hit the whole apparel industry,” he warned.
The former BGMEA leader has pointed out that Vietnam has become a strong player in global apparel trade taking advantage of its booming industry. The relocation initiatives taken by the Chinese entrepreneurs helped flourish their industry.
“The increased manufacturing capacity and state support also helped the Vietnamese apparel manufacturers increase their exports sharply to the USA market,” he added.
When asked, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu said, Bangladesh has little to do if the deal is signed because it is a matter of bilateral relation between the two countries.
But what we can do is that we may persue the US authorities to get some sort of duty concession for Bangladeshi products while entering the US market.
“The government should take the initiative immediately placing it to the forum of TICFA for negotiation,” he said, adding, “If we get the facility, our exports to the US will remain unhurt and steady”.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh earned $5.783 billion from merchandise exports to the US in the immediate past fiscal 2014-15 compared with the amount of $5.583 billion in the previous fiscal (2013-14), showing a 3.57 per cent year-on-year growth.
