Ticfa meaningless without duty-free access: Tofail

24th US Trade Show begins in Dhaka

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday observed that the signing of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) between Bangladesh and the US would become meaningless if Bangladesh’s products do not get duty-free access to the US market.
“Bangladesh and the US have a great relationship. So, I hope they would give us duty-free access to their market,” Tofail Ahmed said while delivering his speech at the inauguration ceremony of the 24th US Trade Show.
Some 40 exhibitors, occupying 64 booths, are participating in the trade show this time.
The number was 43 in the 23rd edition of the event.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) and the US embassy in Dhaka are jointly organising the three-day exhibition (from March 3 to 5) at the capital’s Sonargaon Hotel.
The commerce minister said though the US has suspended the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to its market, bilateral growth between Bangladesh and US has increased over the years. As a single country, the US is Bangladesh’s most preferred destination for doing business, pointed out the minister.
He disclosed that the bilateral trade between the two nations now stands at nearly USD 7 billion. Of this, US exports to Bangladesh accounted for USD 948 million in 2015 and Bangladesh’s exports to US stood at USD 5,985 million.
In 2014, the respective numbers were USD 1,113 million and USD 5,278 million.
Describing AmCham as a very successful body in facilitating trade, Tofail Ahmed said it was the first chamber that got his approval in 1996 when he was appointed commerce minister during the Awami League government of 1996–2001.
Speaking on the occasion, Marcia S Bernicat,  US ambassador to Bangladesh, observed that bilateral trade between the two countries has an annual growth rate of 8.5 per cent.
“We are delighted that bilateral trade in goods has reached nearly USD 7 billion in 2015 and we believe this event will help increase our trade,”
she said.
The US ambassador said strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the two countries would not only create jobs and wealth, but also ensure that the “two great nations learn from each other and the best practices are freely shared, supply lines are efficiently linked and technologies propagated”.
She said the best ways to ensure those goals are to promote two-way investments flows. “In support of Bangladeshi investments in the US, I will be leading a delegation of Bangladeshi investors to the Select USA investment summit, which will be held in Washington DC from June 19 to 21”, she announced.
Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC) president Jackson Cox and AmCham president Md Nurul Islam also spoke on the occasion.

Ticfa meaningless without duty-free access: Tofail

24th US Trade Show begins in Dhaka

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday observed that the signing of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) between Bangladesh and the US would become meaningless if Bangladeshs products do not get duty-free access to the US market. Bangladesh and the US have a great relationship. So, I hope they would give us duty-free access to their market, Tofail Ahmed said while delivering his speech at the inauguration ceremony of the 24th US Trade Show. Some 40 exhibitors, occupying 64 booths, are participating in the trade show this time. The number was 43 in the 23rd edition of the event. The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) and the US embassy in Dhaka are jointly organising the three-day exhibition (from March 3 to 5) at the capitals Sonargaon Hotel. The commerce minister said though the US has suspended the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to its market, bilateral growth between Bangladesh and US has increased over the years. As a single country, the US is Bangladeshs most preferred destination for doing business, pointed out the minister. He disclosed that the bilateral trade between the two nations now stands at nearly USD 7 billion. Of this, US exports to Bangladesh accounted for USD 948 million in 2015 and Bangladeshs exports to US stood at USD 5,985 million. In 2014, the respective numbers were USD 1,113 million and USD 5,278 million. Describing AmCham as a very successful body in facilitating trade, Tofail Ahmed said it was the first chamber that got his approval in 1996 when he was appointed commerce minister during the Awami League government of 19962001. Speaking on the occasion, Marcia S Bernicat, US ambassador to Bangladesh, observed that bilateral trade between the two countries has an annual growth rate of 8.5 per cent. We are delighted that bilateral trade in goods has reached nearly USD 7 billion in 2015 and we believe this event will help increase our trade, she said. The US ambassador said strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the two countries would not only create jobs and wealth, but also ensure that the two great nations learn from each other and the best practices are freely shared, supply lines are efficiently linked and technologies propagated. She said the best ways to ensure those goals are to promote two-way investments flows. In support of Bangladeshi investments in the US, I will be leading a delegation of Bangladeshi investors to the Select USA investment summit, which will be held in Washington DC from June 19 to 21, she announced. Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC) president Jackson Cox and AmCham president Md Nurul Islam also spoke on the occasion.