Continue dialogue besides fulfilling conditions for GSP

A leading economist has called upon the government to continue its efforts to fulfill the conditions besides continuing dialogue with the US government to revive the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).
"Bangladesh should try its best to fulfill the conditions and at the same time it has to work for improving the Dhaka-Washington bilateral political relations to get back the GSP," Professor Dr Mustafizur Rahman, the economist, told BSS on Saturday.
Prof Mustafizur Rahman, Executive Director (ED) of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), an independent think-tank, said Bangladesh needs to continue dialogue on issues with the US government, if any, to address revival of GSP.
He said the US authorities on many occasions drew the government's attention to some issues like establishing good governance and democracy.
Bangladesh has made significant progress in fulfilling conditions to restore the trade privileges, the economist said, but added that still there are some works to do to this end.
"Bangladesh should work seriously to fulfill the rest conditions by the April deadline," he said.
The economist, however, thinks that only fulfilling of conditions given by the US administration would not help revive the GSP as the US authorities might have political consideration.  Bangladesh has three more conditions, out of 16, to fulfill to get back the GSP facility to the US market.
The government last week said that it would fulfill the rest three conditions and report about the progress to the US authorities by mid April.
The remaining three conditions are appointment of 200 inspectors, permitting trade unions at export processing zones (EPZs) and addressing the allegations of torture on workers in 19 factories.
On June 27 last, the US authorities suspended the GSP facility for Bangladesh and set 16 conditions to get it back.