Bangladesh will propose restoration of GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) facility in the 10th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) scheduled to be held in Nairobi from December 15 to 18. Representatives from 160 countries will attend this conference. After a two-year suspension, the US revived GSP last July and extended this facility to 122 countries. Bangladesh is not included in this list. But Bangladesh has fulfilled most of the 16 conditions for restoration of GSP. At the Nairobi meeting, Bangladesh may raise the issue of granting duty- and quota-free market access of LDC products. This is an old issue and no new decision is likely to be taken in the WTO meeting. There is, however, no scope for holding a debate on GSP in the Nairobi meeting. Among the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are eligible for US-GSP benefit while Bangladesh is excluded. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed says that political reasons may be behind this decision of the US. He said that the government would not take any more initiative to regain US-GSP. The US government has renewed the scheme after an interval of two years for almost all countries except for a few like Bangladesh and Russia. The beneficiary countries will enjoy the facility until December 31, 2017. It is to be noted that GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme established by the Trade Act of 1974. There were some 243 tariff lines of Bangladesh eligible for US-GSP until suspended in 2013. Readymade garments were not covered under the scheme. Exports under GSP from Bangladesh to US amounted to $34.7 in 2012. Impact on overall export was not substantial. But exclusion from US-GSP gives a negative signal about Bangladesh. There is an impression that Bangladesh does not have the best of relations with the US which is a superpower. As a preference-giving country the US can unilaterally determine which countries and which products are included in their scheme. Bangladesh products that enjoyed US-GSP included, plastic, ceramics, carpet items, etc. After suspension of GSP, all these products became subject to import tariff in the USA. Due to higher tariff, export of these products declined. Manufacturers of these items expressed disappointment. They said that they were being unjustly penalised for failures in other sectors. Following the Rana Plaza tragedy, both the government and RMG manufacturers were not fast enough to improve workplace conditions and quality of labour standard in the factories. Rana Plaza disaster and death tolls brought severe criticism from across the world. Global community mounted pressure on buyers and retailers as well as governments of importing countries. Suspension of GSP and tough conditions to regain it came as an outcome of the global pressure. The US says Bangladesh has failed to meet all of the 16 conditions it had placed when it revoked the trade privilege on grounds of poor workplace safety and labour rights. However, Bangladesh has since made tremendous progress in respect of these conditions. During the last two years, Bangladesh government has taken a series of measures on labour welfare and workplace improvement. The country amended its labour law addressing issues such as freedom of association, collective bargaining, and occupational health and safety aspects. Factory inspectors were recruite and trained. A hotline to report labour concerns has been established. Accord and Alliance assessed the structural problems and fire safety of over 2,000 garment factories. The labour and employment ministry hired an additional 200 factory inspectors as per conditions set by the US. The government allowed more than 350 trade unions and a publicly accessible data base of the garment sector has been prepared. The government also arranged training programmes for the industrial police. The country has, however, failed to formulate the rules for applying the amended labour law of 2013 and bring changes to the law to allow full freedom of association for factory workers of the export processing zones. The government also failed to arrest the killer of labour leader Aminul Islam. President Obama signed the document of GSP which excluded Bangladesh. Will he reverse his decision in respect of Bangladesh during the rest of his tenure as president of his country? But we have to continue our efforts to get back US-GSP.
