A wide ranging bilateral and regional interests including trade and security cooperation will come up prominently at the ensuing Bangladesh-US partnership dialogue scheduled to be held in Dhaka from April 29 to 30, according to a report of a local daily. The dialogue, fourth of its kind since it was launched in May 2012, is also expected to highlight issues like workers’ rights, regional security, human rights, climate change and women empowerment.
Getting duty-free market access in the US for Bangladeshi products and reinstating the generalised system of preference (GSP) are two major agenda to be tabled at the talks from Bangladesh side. The US has recently asked Dhaka to form two committees on labour issues and women empowerment as the largest export market for Bangladeshi goods seeks improvement in the labour front of the country’s apparel industry, above 90 per cent of which are women employees.
On the other hand, Dhaka has long demanded duty-free market access in the US as Bangladeshi products are subject to an average 15.6 percent import duty for entering in the US market-which are significantly higher than what it faces from other partners. Bangladesh accounted for only 0.2 percent of the US total import, while import duty collected from the Bangladesh exports is 2.7 per cent of total customs duty collected from total imports by the US in a single year.
It will be difficult for Bangladesh to get the GSP reinstated as there has been no significant progress on the labour front. Over 300 new garment industry trade unions have been registered, which has more than doubled the total number since 2013. Also, over 2,500 safety inspections based on commonly agreed standards have been carried out in garment factories. More than 250 inspectors have been trained and deployed and their findings are made publicly available. Overall, the conditions for workers’ safety and health are improving.
Despite these achievements, much more must be done. IndustriALL, a global labour group, said thousands of factories were found to have some structural flaws following inspections carried out in the wake of the tragedy that killed more than 1,100 people. The Swiss-based group said efforts to upgrade the factories were lagging despite some 200 mostly European retailers signing an agreement to improve them.
The Government of Bangladesh must make sure that the rules and regulations required for implementation of the Bangladesh Labour Act as amended in 2013 are adopted as a matter of urgency. Further amendments to the labour law, consistent with ILO Conventions and recommendations, also need to be pursued. Meanwhile, the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) law needs to be swiftly amended to ensure that workers in the zones are afforded labour rights commensurate to those provided in the national labour law. The Government should also guarantee effective, expedient, and transparent investigation and prosecution of unfair labour practices while continuing to ensure that union registration processes are concluded timely and in due process. We know there are many issues on the table, but Bangladesh should be given time to work out them. Meanwhile, the US must give tangible benefits to Bangladesh on trade front.
Getting duty-free market access in the US for Bangladeshi products and reinstating the generalised system of preference (GSP) are two major agenda to be tabled at the talks from Bangladesh side. The US has recently asked Dhaka to form two committees on labour issues and women empowerment as the largest export market for Bangladeshi goods seeks improvement in the labour front of the country’s apparel industry, above 90 per cent of which are women employees.
On the other hand, Dhaka has long demanded duty-free market access in the US as Bangladeshi products are subject to an average 15.6 percent import duty for entering in the US market-which are significantly higher than what it faces from other partners. Bangladesh accounted for only 0.2 percent of the US total import, while import duty collected from the Bangladesh exports is 2.7 per cent of total customs duty collected from total imports by the US in a single year.
It will be difficult for Bangladesh to get the GSP reinstated as there has been no significant progress on the labour front. Over 300 new garment industry trade unions have been registered, which has more than doubled the total number since 2013. Also, over 2,500 safety inspections based on commonly agreed standards have been carried out in garment factories. More than 250 inspectors have been trained and deployed and their findings are made publicly available. Overall, the conditions for workers’ safety and health are improving.
Despite these achievements, much more must be done. IndustriALL, a global labour group, said thousands of factories were found to have some structural flaws following inspections carried out in the wake of the tragedy that killed more than 1,100 people. The Swiss-based group said efforts to upgrade the factories were lagging despite some 200 mostly European retailers signing an agreement to improve them.
The Government of Bangladesh must make sure that the rules and regulations required for implementation of the Bangladesh Labour Act as amended in 2013 are adopted as a matter of urgency. Further amendments to the labour law, consistent with ILO Conventions and recommendations, also need to be pursued. Meanwhile, the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) law needs to be swiftly amended to ensure that workers in the zones are afforded labour rights commensurate to those provided in the national labour law. The Government should also guarantee effective, expedient, and transparent investigation and prosecution of unfair labour practices while continuing to ensure that union registration processes are concluded timely and in due process. We know there are many issues on the table, but Bangladesh should be given time to work out them. Meanwhile, the US must give tangible benefits to Bangladesh on trade front.
