No legitimate grounds to warrant economic sanctions against Bangladesh – BGMEA President
UNB :
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan said on Friday that they “do not believe that there is any legitimate ground” for imposing economic sanctions against Bangladesh.
He said: “As far as garment manufacturing is concerned, Bangladesh has made its position to be a responsible manufacturing hub ensuring workplace safety, workers’ wellbeing, and championing green industrialization.”
The BGMEA chief urged all print, electronic, and online media to highlight this clarification through their platforms in the interest of our industry and economy.
Hassan observed that in the past two days, an additional LC clause regarding sanctions has caught significant media attention.
BGMEA investigated the matter and issued clarification statements.
“We still notice that the issue is being discussed and given attention in the media causing confusion and panic,” he said.
BGMEA received official comments from the original buyer and their agent in Bangladesh.
“The latest statement from BGMEA aims to further clear this issue,” Hassan said, hoping the unnecessary attention, confusion, and panic be avoided.
“The original buyer, which is a French entity, did not insert this additional clause in its master LC to the Bangladesh agent,” he said.
Secondly – the agent transferred its LC to a Bangladeshi garment factory, which was issued by the Standard Chartered Bank Dubai, and the Standard Chartered Bank inserted this additional clause in the LC on their own.
“So no buyer inserted the LC, a private commercial bank did it without being directed by its client,” said the BGMEA chief.
Thirdly, he said: “The agent confirmed that SCB Dubai has already removed the alleged clause from the LC and transferred it to the Bangladeshi factory. So the additional clause doesn’t exist anymore.”
The agent also assured the BGMEA that they will make sure not to insert such clauses in any LC transferred to Bangladeshi suppliers.
“This should end the debate and discussion on the misinterpretation of this additional LC clause,” said the BGMEA President.
He appreciated the concerned buyer and the agent for taking prompt action to revise the LC in less than 24 hours.
