Finance Minister AMA Muhith has lashed out at the US saying it was refusing Bangladesh duty and quota privileges for political reasons.
Muhith returned from his two week-long visit to the US and Mexico on Apr 23.
“The US has opposed Bangladesh from its very birth,” he told reporters at the ministry on Saturday.He said Bangladesh currently exports readymade garments worth $3.4 billion to the US and duties were being paid for one third of the products.
“We have been asking for duty-free privileges for a long time. But they never gave it to us. All they do is make noise over the Grameen Bank and (Muhammad) Yunus.”
When asked if US-Bangladesh relations were experiencing stress, Muhith said: “It wasn’t comfortable.”
President Barack Obama, after the Rana Plaza disaster, suspended the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) for Bangladesh on June, 2013, ostensibly to push Dhaka to take necessary measures on worker’s rights and workplace safety.
The sanction does not affect Bangladesh’s main export, since its ready-made garments are not eligible for duty cuts under the GSP.
Muhith said Bangladesh’s development or its needs were never US priorities.
“They claim Mr. Yunus is an honourable man and they will be pleased if he is given respect. They aren’t worried about anything else in Bangladesh. But we have never disrespected Mr. Yunus.”
Yunus, the first Nobel Laureate from Bangladesh, was “clinging to a bank for long time”, he said.
“He went to court after we took measures but lost. All steps were taken in accordance with law.”
About the current state of relationship between US and Bangladesh, he said, “They had raised questions about the new Bangladesh government after the election.”
“They were against Bangladesh from the start. Maybe that is the reason why they are refusing us duty-free privileges,” said Muhith.
The finance minister has met World Bank and IMF officials at the high-level meeting of UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in Washington DC.
He also met Charles Rivkin, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs to discuss the issue of duty-free benefits for Bangladesh- made garments in the US market.
“We are now preparing a report on duty privileges. We will send it to them soon,” he said.
“We get duty or quota-free access in many other countries but not in the US.
“We have been asking for the privilege for years, but in vain. This is highly unfortunate,” the minister said.
“They poke their nose in everything, but never give us any money,” he added.
They don’t even give any money to the Grameen bank, or Yunus, whom they care for so much.
“This country which opposed our Liberation has only one issue and that is Muhammad Yunus.”
Muhith called the press conference to discuss his participation at the South-South Cooperation and the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings 2014.
Speaking about the Grameen Bank and Yunus, he said, “He always considered the bank as his personal property and never accepted another person would run it.”
He reiterated that the decision to give central bank the right to elect the directors of Grameen Bank was correct.
“The finance ministry appoints the board members of state-owned banks. Bangladesh Bank will elect Grameen Bank’s directors in consultation with the finance ministry,” he said.
Muhith said relations with the World Bank had improved after the spat over Padma bridge funding.
“They wanted to loan us $1.2 billion for Padma bridge. Now they have promised to give double the amount, $2.8 billion, for various projects during the ongoing fiscal.”
Muhith said the government will order the construction of the much awaited Padma bridge by July this year.
He also said actions were being taken against those involved in corruption and irregularities at the state-owned BASIC Bank.-bdnews24.com
