Formation of \\\'Ticfa working group on GSP, labour affairs\\\' underway

The United States (US) is planning to create a ‘Ticfa Working Group on GSP/Labour Affairs’ to provide an ongoing, formal mechanism for Bangladesh and US to address labour concerns. “As agreed by the government of Bangladesh in the meeting following the Ticfa signing in late November 2013, we plan to create a Ticfa Working Group on GSP/Labour Affairs…,” Lewis Karesh, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Labour, office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), said on Tuesday. The USTR official also said they envision Ticfa as the key coordinating mechanism for bilateral, government-to-government (G2G) efforts on the GSP Action Plan. In terms of US’s broader economic engagement with Bangladesh, in late January, the United States-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) entered into force. The US wants to hold the first Ticfa Council meeting in Dhaka later this spring, said Karesh who oversees trade and labor issues for USTR, according to UNB.