Washington, DC – The United States-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) Council held its fourth meeting on September 13, 2018 in Washington, DC to promote expanded bilateral trade and investment in goods and services. The meeting was co-chaired by Mark Linscott, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asian Affairs and Shubhashish Bose, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh.
During the meeting, the United States and Bangladesh exchanged views on issues of mutual interest covered under the TICFA. The discussions focused on market access for U.S. cotton, enabling a digital economy, transparency in government procurement, and labor reforms in Bangladesh.
Both governments pledged their commitment to deepen their engagement and grow their trade and economic ties. The United States particularly noted its concerns on overall labor reform and expressed its hope for ongoing collaboration with the private sector on worker safety. Bangladesh was suspended from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program in 2013 as a result of concerns on workers’ rights and safety.
Bangladesh and the United States had $7.2 billion (two-way) goods trade during 2017.
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