U.S. and Bangladeshi officials held an inaugural trade forum on April 28 in accordance with the bilateral Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The two sides vowed to work to improve labor conditions in Bangladesh in order to restore Generalized System of Preferences eligibility, said USTR. The U.S. aims to bolster its trade relationship with Bangladesh in the following areas, said USTR:
The Bangladeshi government must continue to improve labor rights protections through its Export Processing Zone law and other legislation in order to regain Generalized System of Preferences eligibility, said the Department of State, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Labor in an April 23 release. In accordance with an Action Plan outlined by the Obama administration in July 2013, Bangladesh must also increase inspector staff, publicly disclose inspector evaluation, protection free association of workers and improve labor conditions, said the joint statement. The Obama administration will make a preliminary determination in June on the reinstatement of Bangladesh into the GSP program, USTR said on April 22 (see 14042211).
The European Parliament published on April 22 its adoption of unilateral measures to eliminate or reduce tariffs on products originating in Ukraine. The measures are in accordance with the 2012 Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement. The European Parliament determined it is necessary to expedite the entry into force of trade preferences in the agreement, in light of the recent security, political and economic destabilization in Ukraine, according to the European Parliament Official Journal.
The Obama administration will make a preliminary determination in June on the reinstatement of Bangladesh into the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on April 22. Although the Bangladeshi government is making gradual improvement to labor conditions in the country, progress is still insufficient, according to administration officials in February (see 14021125). Bangladesh provides almost $5 billion worth of goods to the U.S. on an annual basis, largely in the apparel sector. Those goods are not eligible in GSP for any beneficiary. Roughly 99 percent of U.S. imports from Bangladesh do not reap GSP benefits (see 13071613). A series of labor disasters in Bangladesh that claimed upwards of 1,000 lives prompted USTR to rescind Bangladesh’s GSP eligibility in July 2013. The GSP program has been expired since July 31, 2013 (see 14032429).
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pledged in the “days and weeks ahead” to work with committee lawmakers and stakeholders to craft an alternate version of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), Wyden said in a speech hosted by the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) on April 9. The proposal would strengthen provisions on enforcement and congressional oversight, said Wyden.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the private sector must immediately ratchet up pressure on Congress to draft an enhanced African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), said industry executives recently in interviews and letters. AGOA expires in September 2015 after a 15-year run. Due to industry's need to make sourcing decisions roughly 9 to 12 months in advance, lawmakers must pass AGOA renewal before the end of 2014 to avoid negatively impacting investment decisions, said the industry officials.
Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore. is unlikely to allow for a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences to be added on to an unrelated tax extender bill that has been discussed to be a potential vehicle for GSP renewal (see 14032429), said Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. The tax bill is now being considered by the committee. "Sen. Wyden has said that he only wants to have germane amendments and germane bills as part of that package and he doesn't think trade is a germane amendment," said Gold, who spoke at a Coalition of New England Companies for Trade conference in Newport, R.I. on April 1. "So, it's unfortunate that GSP will not be a part of that, but we continue to push."
Supporters of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) and other pieces of trade legislation are continuing to push for renewal of the respective programs despite growing uncertainty for the entire raft of trade bills, said trade analysts and industry officials in recent days. The vocal opposition to the current iteration of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) among Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in labor and environmental advocacy circles jeopardizes the once common hope that TPA would provide a vehicle for those pieces of legislation, and proponents are now scrambling to find another option, said observers.
The Obama Administration is prioritizing increases in agriculture and manufacturing exports during the course of 2014, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in the Trade Policy Agenda released on March 4. The USTR will also seek to add protections to intellectual property rights through the World Trade Organization and free trade agreements now being negotiated, the agency said.
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.