Bangladesh and the United States will discuss trade and investment issues with a special focus on workers’ safety and rights on May 17, the first such meeting after the Trump Administration assumed office.
The discussion, the third of its kind, will be held under the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) signed between the two countries back in November 2013, a senior Commerce Ministry official told UNB.
He said, the two countries will also discuss new areas of cooperation as Ticfa provides a mechanism for both governments to discuss those issues apart from trade and investment ones.
The third Ticfa meeting was originally scheduled for December 13, 2016 but was apparently delayed for recently held elections in the US.
The first Ticfa meeting was held in Dhaka in April 2014 and the second annual meeting in Washington, DC.
In June 2013, the then Obama Administration suspended the eligibility of Bangladesh for tariff benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme which is designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry.
Bangladesh will present ‘enormous progress’ made over the past years in line with the US-designed ‘Bangladesh Action Plan 2013’ during the third Ticfa meeting, another senior official told UNB.
Many countries have already acknowledged the progress and appreciated Bangladesh’s efforts, he said.
The US government outlined next steps in a longstanding effort to address workers’ safety issues in Bangladesh in a ‘meaningful way’ after the tragedies of the November 2012 Tazreen Fashions factory fire and the April 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse, said a diplomat.
The government expressed its displeasure for not restoring GSP benefit for Bangladesh despite ‘fulfilling’ all the conditions laid out by the then Obama Administration. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed earlier said Ticfa will remain meaningless if duty privileges are not restored for Bangladesh. Bangladeshi readymade garments are, however, not among the listed products that enjoy GSP benefit in the US market.
He also alleged that the US government is not restoring Bangladesh’s GSP benefits on ‘political grounds’ which was disagreed by US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat claiming there has been no ‘political basis’ for GSP suspension.
For the US, a diplomat said, they ‘track and discuss’ Bangladeshi efforts to improve workers’ safety and their rights.
“This is an important priority for the United States,” he said acknowledging that Bangladesh seeks to prevent tragedies in the RMG sector and there have been successes.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR), the chief trade negotiator for the American government, represents the US government in the Ticfa meeting.
The review meeting of the Sustainability Compact, launched on July 8, 2013, is likely to be held on May 18 in Dhaka, another official told UNB.
The Sustainability Compact brings together the European Union (EU), the Government of Bangladesh, the United States, Canada and the ILO accompanied by employers, trade unions and other key stakeholders to promote continuous improvements in labour rights and factory safety in the RMG and knitwear industry in Bangladesh.
The Members of the European Parliament visited Bangladesh on March 27-29 and said the garment sector, which was the focus of their visit, has played an important role in Bangladesh’s growth.
They noted that there have been ‘improvements’ in both buildings and work place safety since the Rana plaza tragedy four years ago.
Officials said, the EU is a strong partner of Bangladesh, as reflected in robust trade relations underpinned by the Everything But Arms (EBA) (duty-free) market access regime.
The European Parliament delegation mentioned that the International Labour Organization (ILO) called on Bangladesh to address four issues: *full alignment of respectively, the EPZ draft law, Bangladesh Labour Act, with the UN core Labour Convention modalities for establishing trade unions and the right of trade unions to operate freely.
“It’s important that these issues are addressed before May 18 review of the Sustainability Compact and the June annual International Labour Conference of the ILO,” according to an official document seen by UNB.
