April 24, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1429

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Wednesday renewed its plea for duty-free access of its ready-made garments into the US market to help spur the South Asian country’s economy, create jobs and reduce poverty.

Bangladesh earned $3.1 billion by exporting ready-made garments to the United States, a third of total export earnings from the textiles sector, in the fiscal year ending June 2007.

“Our economy will be boosted further if we can export our ready-made garments to US markets without tariffs and it will create nearly 200,000 new jobs, particularly for women,” said Abdus Salam, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

He said that at present about 12 million of Bangladesh’s 140 million people were directly and indirectly engaged in the ready-made garments sector.

“The US is the single largest export destination for Bangladesh and exports might rise substantially if we get duty-free access, like other least-developed countries that have already boosted their export income,” Salam said at a meeting of trade union and business

leaders.—Reuters