The US congress is set to enact a bill in the coming weeks renewing its GSP (Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme for 122 developing and least developed countries except Bangladesh, trade officials have said.
The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees on April 22 and 23 approved legislation to renew the trade facilitation programme that removes tariffs on nearly 5,000 products.
The tenure of the scheme expired on July 31, 2013. Before that the US government on June 27, 2013 had suspended the GSP for Bangladeshi products following deadly Rana Plaza collapse and fire incident in Tazreen Fashions citing serious shortcomings in workplace safety and workers' rights.
Trade officials feared that Dhaka's export to Washington might face tough competition as Bangladesh has been excluded from the list of eligible beneficiaries after the GSP scheme is renewed.
 "All these recent initiatives, persuasion by US importers and GSP alliance countries for renewal of GSP, made Bangladesh export to US market further difficult as Bangladesh is not a part of the package for this time," commercial counsellor of Bangladesh in Washington SK Aktar Hossain wrote in a recent letter to the commerce secretary in Dhaka.
In his letter he wrote, "GSP is finally making a move in the Senate. But there is no news for Bangladesh since the suspension of GSP took place in a different context. The USTR officials always underscore the need for improving working conditions in RMG, attaining international labour standard and ensuring labour rights."
The letter also said, the Senate Finance Committee on April 22 unanimously approved a bill to renew trade preference programmes for sub-Saharan Africa, Haiti and other developing counties as it continues to march its way toward action on a trade promotion authority bill.
 "The legislation would extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which expires later this year, until September 2025. It would also extend a provision allowing the African countries to import fabric from a third country, such as Vietnam or China, and still qualify for duty-free treatment on clothing they export to the US," he noted.
He also wrote that the panel adopted an amendment from Senator Johnny Isakson which would urge the Obama administration to conduct an out-of-cycle review of South Africa's eligibility for the programme within 30 days of enactment of the bill.
A trade preference programme for Haiti would also be renewed through 2025 as a part of the legislation passed by the committee, he added.   Â
However, commerce minister Tofail Ahmed told the FE Thursday that Dhaka's export to Washington would not face any difficulty since Bangladeshi goods worth only a few millions dollar were under converge of GSP scheme.
 "The GSP covers export of Bangladeshi goods of only $24 million to the US market. It's a very tiny portion of our $30 billion total export. We would not face any mentionable loss," he said.
The minister said the US should withdraw the GSP suspension on Bangladesh since almost all of their conditions have already been met.
 "If the US does not withdraw the GSP suspension and include Bangladesh in the list of eligible countries of the scheme despite our remarkable progress in ensuring labour rights and workplace safety, it must be politics what is its behind," the minister said.
When contacted, secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Mikail Shipar told the FE that everything has been done in line with the US prescription to ensure labour rights in the country.
 "We have done our best on Bangladesh perspective. But, may be there are some shortcomings on US judgment. Removing those shortcomings is not possible at all," he said.
President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Atiqul Islam told the FE Thursday that Bangladesh would not be financially loser if the GSP facility is not given since a tiny portion of total exports to the US have the tariff preference under the scheme.
However, he said, non-withdrawal of the suspension and excluding Bangladesh from the list of eligible countries in the renewed scheme will be a matter of image problem for the country.
 "We have created favourable working environment in the factories, ensured labour rights, and finalised the rules on labour law on Wednesday last. We are continuously working in line with the US action plan. Non-withdrawal of suspension of GSP despite our sincere efforts is unfortunate," Mr Islam said.
 syful-islam@outlook.com
US set to renew GSP scheme sans BD
Syful Islam | Published: May 08, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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