Labour Attaché of the US Embassy in Dhaka Leena Khan on Sunday said the process of regaining the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility from the USA, which was withdrawn in 2013, will not happen quickly for Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh would need to re-apply for the GSP facilities once the programme is reauthorised by the US Congress,” she said at a seminar organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh in Dhaka. “We are hopeful that the Congress will reauthorise it,” she added.
She further said, “We have been deeply engaged in Bangladesh for decades and labour rights will continue to become more central to the US-Bangladesh trade and investment relationship.
“We have an 11-point labour action plan. The US developed the action plan, partly in response to Bangladesh’s request on how to get access to the GSP and Development Finance Corporation in the future.”
Leena Khan continued, “We developed this plan over the past year and identified key benchmarks that the government would have to meet on labour law reform.” Under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), developing nations can export specific items to developed nations at reduced or no tariff.
According to Leena Khan, the United States is also looking to reform labour inspection and enforcement, dealing with unfair labour practices, removing obstacles to trade union registration, and addressing acts of violence, harassment, and intimidation against unions in Bangladesh’s export processing zones.
During the seminar, Professor Mamun Habib from the Independent University of Bangladesh presented research findings suggesting the need to broaden the focus beyond the garment industry and revise Bangladesh’s wage adjustment policies.
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