The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries whose primary objective was to promote international trade by removing or removing barriers to trade such as tariffs or quotas. According to its preamble, its purpose was to “significantly reduce tariffs and other barriers to trade and eliminate preferences on a mutually beneficial basis.” Washington, D.C. – U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made remarks and chaired the signing of the U.S.-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum (TICFA) Agreement. The agreement was signed by Bangladeshi Trade Minister Mahbub Ahmed and U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Wendy Cutler. The TICFA provides a mechanism for the two governments to discuss trade and investment issues and areas of cooperation. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; Spanish: Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States that creates a trilateral trading bloc in North America. The agreement entered into force on January 1, 1994 and replaced the 1988 Canada-U.S.
Canada-Canada Free Trade Agreement. The NAFTA trading bloc is one of the largest trading blocs in the world in terms of gross domestic product. The current government is a transitional government. Constitutionally, it should only perform routine work. The signing of an international treaty as important as Ticfa is not appropriate for a transitional government. This is the first important issue we need to address. It is mysterious that the government is not disclosing the deal. If we look at the documents of the Ticfa agreements with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, we see that there is nothing so serious to hide. If our government discloses the agreement, relevant stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide input, which will strengthen Bangladesh`s position and protect our national interests.
Bangladesh will participate in the WTO Ministerial Conference next month. The meeting will address many trade-related issues, including environmental and labour issues. These two sensitive issues could be included in Ticfa. The U.S. may be soft on the environment, but it is likely to be tough on the issue of labor. The government of Bangladesh has long been cautious on the issue of labour. At the WTO Forum, the least developed countries are addressing these issues together. For a long time, they opposed the proposals put forward by the industrialized countries on environmental and labour trade issues, considering them unfavourable to the least developed countries. Our government must be careful.
Developed countries often use bilateral agreements to avoid multilateral forums where it is more difficult to beat the small and poorest when they work together. I believe that any slippage in the negotiations will make us vulnerable to US pressure and weaken our position as leaders of the LDCs. I do not believe that there is a close link between the signing of Ticfa and the re-establishment of the GSP itself. The decision to suspend the GSP was taken by a quasi-judicial body after lengthy hearings. Bangladesh will have to dispel the allegations made in order to have a chance of withdrawing the suspension. As labour issues are among the main issues that are strongly supported in the country, it will be difficult for Bangladesh to resist its admission to Ticfa. The U.S. has controlled Bangladesh quite effectively.
Ticfa provides a regular forum to discuss trade and investment issues with the United States. To keep up with the negotiating skills of the United States, Bangladesh must have similar capabilities. The question is whether we have competent negotiators. “With this agreement, the United States and Bangladesh will work together more regularly to address relevant issues in our trade and investment relationship,” Ambassador Froman said. “It is important to note that we will also be able to monitor and discuss Bangladesh`s efforts to improve workplace safety and workers` rights. This is a major priority for the United States as Bangladesh seeks to prevent further tragedies in its ready-to-wear sector. The United States and Bangladesh have declared their intention to promote trade and investment opportunities and facilitate the existing flow of goods and services. Participants discussed improvements to the investment climate in Bangladesh to achieve this, including the effective protection of intellectual property rights; clear regulation and control of trade in medicines and medical devices; a commitment to fostering the digital economy; support investors` right to fair and expeditious dispute settlement and arbitration; the implementation of obligations and notifications under the WTO Agreements; and transparency in public procurement. If all goes according to plan, Bangladesh will most likely sign the Framework Agreement on Trade and Investment Cooperation (Ticfa) with the United States today. At the beginning, I would like to point out that Ticfa is a platform given by a bilateral treaty. It is not mandatory for any of the signatories to operate under obligations. The main objectives of Ticfa are to address problems and obstacles, as well as to analyze trade and trade relations between two countries.
In addition, it creates room for maneuver to address a critical issue to the respective government agencies, which will accelerate a bilateral agreement between them. As for the number of meetings to be held by two countries, it can be guided by the needs of both countries and will meet not once, but 3-4 times a year if necessary. There are countless ticfas in today`s world that have proven beneficial. Discussions over the need for Ticfa between the US and Bangladesh had begun more than a decade ago, and it was largely thanks to the complex and slow bureaucratic response on the Bangladesh side that the deal remained on hold for so long. This delay in signing ticfa, along with many trade agreements, underscores an important fact, namely that Bangladesh should have focused on policy-oriented diplomacy towards commercial and economic diplomacy. There should have been a coordinated approach by our government and the private sector to sign Ticfa. Three important features of Ticfa relate to working conditions, compliance and intellectual property rights (IPR). It is important to mention that Bangladesh will benefit from all the above features and, if appropriate measures are taken in accordance with the guidelines of the agreement, it will also be able to recover its suspended GSP facilities. In addition, Bangladesh will also be able to process the 3% of products for which it does not benefit from the benefits of the GSP. With regard to the signing of ticfa by the transitional government during an election period, I believe that the government is constitutionally legal to sign such a treaty at the time of the elections in Bangladesh. .
