No new initiative to regain GSP: Tofail

The government will not take any new initiative to get back the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facility for Bangladeshi products in the US market, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said.
The US did not include Bangladesh in its updated list of eligible countries for enjoying GSP facility.
"I don't support taking any steps for reviving the facility," Tofail Ahmed told reporters in his reaction on Tuesday.
"We've fulfilled all our conditions. We've nothing more to do."
"Our exports will not be affected, if the country doesn't get back the GSP facility," the minister told the media after a view-exchange meeting with Slovenian envoy to India Darja Bavdaž Kuret, who is also accredited to Bangladesh.
"I don't see reasons other than the political ones (for not being on the GSP list). Obama has recently praised Bangladesh, and there's no reason for us for not getting the GSP facility," Tofail Ahmed said.
"We've already fulfilled all the 16 conditions set by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to regain the facility. I think the US will not lift the suspension even we meet many more conditions for GSP restoration."
Under GSP facility, 5,000 types of Bangladeshi goods enjoyed duty-free access to the US market.
Bangladeshi businesses exported goods worth around $34.7 million to the US in 2012, and $2.0 million in duties was waived.
The commerce minister expressed the hope that the US will withdraw the GSP suspension under the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA).
Replying to a question Tofail said, "GSP is absolutely a matter of the US.  We have nothing to do about the issue,"     
The US suspended Bangladesh's GSP facility on June 27, 2013 in the aftermath of over 1,000 workers' deaths in Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza collapse.
UNB news adds: On June 29, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that reauthorizes GSP through Dec 31, 2017, according to Office of the USTR.
It excludes Russia and Bangladesh.
In January's review, the USTR recognised Bangladesh's progress, but urged that more needed to be done on workers' safety and rights.
The USTR-led interagency review concluded that while Bangladesh has made progress over the last year to address fire and building safety issues in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, further progress is needed, including the issues relating to the workers' rights, before the reinstatement of Bangladesh's trade benefits under GSP can be considered.
GSP is a trade scheme, under which the US allows import of more than 5,000 goods from 122 least developed and developing countries with lower or zero-duty benefit.
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