The government will take no new initiatives to have preferential trade facilities in the US revived, the commerce minister says after Washington did not include Bangladesh in its updated list of eligible countries for GSP facility, reports bdnews24.com. The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) website says the facility is still suspended for Bangladesh and that it is closely observing the country’s labour rights scenario. “I don’t support taking any steps for reviving the GSP facility,” Tofail Ahmed told reporters in his reaction on Tuesday. “We’ve fulfilled our conditions,” he said. “We’ve nothing more to do.” President Barack Obama suspended Bangladesh’s GSP facility on June 27, 2013 in the aftermath of over 1,000 workers’ deaths in Tazreen Fashions Limited fire and Rana Plaza collapse. The decision will likely have little impact on Bangladesh’s multi-billion dollar readymade garment export as it was not included under the GSP. Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of RMG products after China but the sector has been plagued by accidents and allegations of low pay. The US said the 2013 suspension was aimed at ‘pushing Bangladesh improve’ working conditions and workplace safety in its factories. Minister Ahmed said Bangladesh fulfilled 16 conditions set by the US for reviving the facility. Under the GSP, 5,000 types of Bangladeshi goods enjoyed duty-free access. Bangladeshi businesses exported goods worth around $34.7 million to the US in 2012 and $2 million in duties was waived. “I don’t see reasons other than political ones,” Ahmed said. “Obama has praised Bangladesh and there’s no reason for us not getting this GSP facility.” UNB adds: In January this year’s review, Bangladesh has been excluded in the renewal of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). On June 29, 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill (H.R. 1295), that reauthorises the GSP through Dec 31, 2017, according to Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). This excludes goods that entered from Russia, which formally graduated from the GSP programme on Oct. 4, 2014, and any other countries that are no longer eligible for GSP benefits, such as Bangladesh. In January this year’s review, the USTR recognised progress but urged that more needs to be done on worker safety and rights. The USTR-led interagency review concluded that while Bangladesh has made progress over the last year to address fire and building safety issues in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, further progress is needed, including to address serious worker rights issues, before the reinstatement of Bangladesh’s trade benefits under the GSP can be considered. President Obama suspended Bangladesh from GSP in June 2013 based on Bangladesh’s failure to meet statutory eligibility requirements related to worker rights. GSP is a trade scheme under which the US allows import of more than 5,000 goods from 122 least developed and developing countries with lower or zero-duty benefit. Under the new law, duty reductions under the GSP program will begin 30 days after the law is enacted, which took effect on July 29, 2015. It also extends duty reductions retroactively for any goods entered in between July 31, 2013, and the effective date. Accordingly, filers shall be entitled to file GSP-eligible entry summaries, utilising the Special Program Indicator (SPI) “A,” “A+,” or “A*,” without the payment of duty for shipments entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption effective July 29, 2015. Bangladesh experienced two industrial disasters-Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse that forced the US suspended GSP for Bangladesh in June 2013, citing serious shortcomings in labour rights and workplace safety.
