US visa restrictions won’t affect RMG export: BGMEA
Staff Reporter :
The entrepreneurs of the country’s apparel industry have said that the US visa restriction is alarming, but it will not affect the apparel shipment to the American market.
They also criticised the officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) strongly for tarnishing image of the apparel industry by issuing false and fabricated press release recently.
Faruque Hassan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), came up with the remarks while speaking at a press conference at its office at Uttara in the city on Tuesday.
He said, “The US visa policy would be applicable for anyone. Even they may cancel my visa. But, it will not impact on apparel export to the US marker.”
“Those, who want to ensure the rights of the workers, will certainly not arrange to starve the workers to death. But any sanction is alarming. But, the businesses will be able to continue their trading activities in an alternative way,” he added.
The BGMEA president further said that they could not go to any country during the Covid-19 pandemic but, their business was not being stopped.
Regarding the US restrictions on processing payments linked to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), he said, “The ACU is a regional transaction settlement institution.
Its payments through some banks have been sanctioned but the payment can be settled through alternative ways and the government is working for this.”
Faruque also said the news report that recently surfaced in the media claiming that 10 companies laundered Tk300crore, is not true.
“In fact, a big question has been raised over the purpose of such a media campaign.
We think that this will not put anyone in an advantageous position in our economy, industry, country or government. Rather, it is hindering,” he added.
He said, “If there is a complaint against any exporter, the relevant government agency will call them, investigate and bring to justice those who are genuinely involved in any kind of unscrupulous activity. It should be the practice.”
“We think it is an attempt to belittle the industry to the nation by bringing the mentioned issue to the public through the media.
We strongly condemn, and reject such activities,” he added.
“Hundreds of entrepreneurs are very disappointed and shocked.
They are discouraged from investing in the future due to the falsehood,” he said.
Faruque demanded the formation of a separate task force to investigate the allegation of money laundering by the garment factories.
Of the 10 companies, four are members of the BGMEA, two are members of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and four others are not associated with any of them.
The retail sales drop of garments impacted the export of apparel from Bangladesh severely due to inflationary pressure on Western consumers, the BGMEA president said.
