Dhaka, Bangladesh – The United States-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum (TICFA) Council held its third meeting on May 17, 2017 in Dhaka, Bangladesh to promote expanded bilateral trade and investment in goods and services. The meeting was co-chaired by Shubhashish Bose, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh and Mark Linscott, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative.
During the meeting, Bangladesh and the United States deliberated intensively on issues of mutual interest covered under the TICFA. Technical trade discussions focused on ease of doing business, market access and tariff reforms, intellectual property, digital economy, regional connectivity, energy and infrastructure development, transparency in government procurement, and labor.
Both governments pledged their commitment to deepen their engagement and increase their trade and economic ties. The United States particularly noted its interest in addressing specific market access barriers to trade and concerns on overall labor reform, expressing its hope for the speedy resolution of pending cases stemming from the labor unrest in Ashulia last year.
Bangladesh and the United States had $6.8 billion (two-way) goods trade during 2016.
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