Still No Reinstatement of GSP Benefits for Bangladesh After Slow Labor Progress, Say Officials
Bangladeshi authorities, retail companies and international advocacy organizations are collaborating to improve labor rights in Bangladesh, but progress is minimal and insufficient, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal at a Feb. 11 Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing. The U.S. suspended Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for Bangladesh in June 2013, due to a series of factory disasters that claimed hundreds of lives (see 13071613). Given the slow progress, the U.S. still isn't ready to restore GSP preferences for Bangladesh, said a USTR official. Bilateral trade continues unabated, however, and total trade increased 12 percent to $5.7 billion in 2013, said Biswal.
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“There is still much to be done and Bangladesh still has not fulfilled the many commitments it made to improve working conditions. Plans to hire more inspectors and carry out more labor, fire, and building inspections are lagging,” said Biswal in written testimony (here). “The majority of inspections and remediation efforts are occurring under the direction of private sector initiatives. Gaps remain between national law and international standards, no action has been taken to bring Export Processing Zones (EPZs) into conformity with international standards, and concerns remain over harassment of labor activists.” The hearing was titled “Prospects for Democratic Reconciliation and Workers' Rights in Bangladesh.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is not currently prepared to reinstate GSP benefits, said Assistant USTR for Labor Lewis Karesh at the hearing. No action has been taken to address labor rights or freedom of association in Bangladeshi EPZs since the early 90s, said Karesh. “In late January, we communicated to the government of Bangladesh our conclusion that Bangladesh has not made sufficient progress on the GSP Action Plan to warrant reinstatement of GSP benefits at that time and that we intend to conduct the next such review in May 2014,” said Karesh in written testimony (here).