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US Ambassador called on DCCI President
Ambassador of USA to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller paid a courtesy visit to Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) and had a brief meeting with Rizwan Rahman, President of DCCI covering various areas. The meeting was held on March 21, 2021 at DCCI. John Dunham, Economic Affairs Unit Chief, U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh and John Smith-Sreen, Director, Economic Growth Office, USAID were also present during the meeting.
During the meeting, DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said that the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and the United States recorded 37.6% growth over the last ten years. It reached to USD 7.96 billion in FY2020 of which Bangladesh’s export was USD 5.83 billion and import was USD 2.13 billion. He also sought investment from USA, particularly in the medical equipment and safety gears, automobile, smart farming technology, food processing and 4IR technologies. Bangladeshi RMG exporters pay 15.62% duty on their shipments to the USA which is highest compared to other exporting nations to USA. He therefore urged the USA to include RMG, footwear and dairy products of Bangladesh under duty free quota free (DFQF) facility of USA. The United States is the top source of Foreign Direct Investment into Bangladesh. Cumulative stock of FDI from U.S.A. to Bangladesh reached US$ 3.69 billion which is 19.78% of the total FDI stock of Bangladesh, he said. Export of Bangladesh to the USA is heavily concentrated on RMG and textile products but we have to diversify our products.
U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller said that the resiliency of Bangladesh is very remarkable. He also congratulated the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of its golden jubilee and celebration of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary. He also said that the bilateral relation between USA and Bangladesh is mainly depends on strong economic ties and the future of it is limitless. He also said that the entrepreneurial energy of Bangladeshi people are really notable. He also informed that soon US-Bangladesh Business Council will be launched and which reflects that the US investors are keen to invest in Bangladesh. The Ambassador said agriculture, automobile, blue economy, tourism, eco-tourism and light engineering are some of the potential avenues for U.S. investors. In 2019 the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and USA reached record USD 9 billion. The Ambassador also urges on improving ease of doing business index and development of infrastructure including port infrastructure.
Members of the DCCI Board were also present during the meeting.
Published on: 2021-03-21