A TRADE bill has been introduced in the Senate of the United States (US) seeking to provide duty-free access of products from Bangladesh and 13 other least developed countries (LDCs) to American market. Senator Gordon Smith introduced the Tariff Relief Assistance for Developing Economies (TRADE) Act of 2007 in the Senate on March 15 to extend certain trade preferences to certain LDCs, including Bangladesh for next 10 years. The bill, cosponsored by Senator Feinstein, Senator Craig and Senator Sununu, was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

The countries that would be beneficiaries of the Act, if passed by the American Congress, include Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Laos, the Maldives, Nepal, Samoa, Solomon Islands, East Timor, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Yemen. Sri Lanka’s name was proposed separately for being struck by tsunami in 2005. The statement on objective of the bill said it is in the mutual interest of the US and the LDCs to promote stable and sustainable economic growth and development. It said trade and investment are powerful economic tools and a country may use trade and investment to reduce poverty and raise the standard of living in that country.

If the bill is passed, it said a country that is open to trade may increase its economic growth. The statement noted that unemployment rates in LDCs were extremely high, including unemployment rates in some countries of up to 70 per cent. Trade and investment often lead to employment opportunities and often help alleviate poverty. It said LDCs have a particular challenge in meeting the economic requirements and competitiveness of globalisation and international markets.

The US, it said, has recognised the benefits of trade to LDCs by enacting the GSP (Generalised System of Preference) and trade benefits for developing countries in the Caribbean, Andean, and sub-Saharan African regions of the world. The challenges of the global trading environment for LDCs are even greater given the end of MFA (multi fiber arrangement) in 2005, and certain LDCs, including Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal, are particularly vulnerable to the changes that will result from the end of that arrangement.