B Mirror Reort: The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has urged the government to expedite the implementation of duty-free market access to the United States for garments manufactured using US cotton and man-made fibre (MMF).

The call came during a meeting between a BTMA delegation and representatives of the US Embassy in Dhaka at the association’s office in Gulshan on Wednesday. The BTMA delegation was led by its President Showkat Aziz Russell.

During the meeting, Russell highlighted BTMA’s role in promoting the sustainable development of Bangladesh’s primary textile sector, enhancing global competitiveness, and strengthening export capacity ahead of the country’s graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status.

He noted that BTMA serves as the key backward linkage industry for Bangladesh’s textile and ready-made garment (RMG) sector.

The discussions focused on the early implementation of Article 5.3 of the existing trade arrangement, which provides for duty-free access to the US market for garments produced in Bangladesh using cotton and MMF imported from the United States.

According to BTMA, implementing the provision would significantly improve the competitiveness of Bangladeshi garment exporters in the US market while boosting American exports of cotton and man-made fibres to Bangladesh, strengthening bilateral trade relations between the two countries.