Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Tuesday said US Ambassador Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat would consult with her government over the revival of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Bangladesh. “Our Commerce Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Labour Secretary will also visit US soon to discuss the issue with the US officials,” said the minister. Tofail was talking to reporters after a meeting with the Ambassadors of US, Canada and Denmark at his office in the afternoon. The commerce minister said the US Ambassador informed him that she will discuss with her government regarding trade facilities for Bangladesh under the GSP and duty-free and quota-free export facility. Tofail also claimed that all the 16 conditions prescribed for reviving the GSP facility have been implemented, adding “The only argument we are having the US authorities is over the guidelines of the labour act, which will also be finalised within a week.” He, however, said “We don’t have any problem if the GSP is not reinstated as trade is not being hindered as we have agreements including the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA) with the US.” Talking to the reporters after the meeting, the US Ambassador said her government would consider reviving the GSP facility once Bangladesh fulfills the conditions regarding labour rights and safety issues. “Fulfilling the conditions like labour rights, workers safety, better working environment, labour law etc are very important for getting back the GSP facility,” Bernicat added. Canadian High Commissioner Benotte Pieree Lumee, Danish Ambassador Hunne Fugl Eskjaer, Chief of Economic Affairs and Development Corporation of Netherlands Martine Bun Hoop, Chief of DFID Sarah Cook, Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah al-Mamun, Labour Secretary and Foreign Secretary were also present in the meeting.
