US-Europe effort to stop RMG export won’t be successful: Commerce minister
Earlier Foreign Minister Abdul Momen also said there would be no problem if the US imposed sanctions on Bangladesh
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has confidently asserted that the US and its European allies' efforts to hinder Bangladesh's garment exports will ultimately prove futile.
"Politics and business are distinct spheres. They [the US and European countries] will not do anything that jeopardises Bangladesh's garment industry," he told reporters at his Rangpur residence on Wednesday (29 November).
The minister also urged apparel entrepreneurs not to worry about the US memorandum on labour rights, announced on 16 November.
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Earlier on 19 November, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen also said there would be no problem if the US imposed sanctions on Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh embassy in Washington in a letter to Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, said 20 November that the latest policy of the United States on labour rights warrants enough reasons for Bangladesh to be alarmed and the issue should be "taken into cognizance with priority by concerned stakeholders.
On 16 November, Secretary of the US Department of State Antony J Blinken announced the Presidential Memorandum on Advancing Worker Empowerment, Rights, and High Labor Standards Globally.
During the announcement, Blinken said, "Those who threaten, intimidate, attack union leaders, labour rights defenders and labour organisations will be held accountable."
One of the lines of efforts is steps like sanctions, trade penalties, and visa restrictions, Blinken said.
The timing of the memorandum coincided with violent protests raging across Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) sector – the jewel in the country's export crown, with exports reaching over $46.99 billion in FY23 – centring a hike in workers' minimum wage.
