Bangladesh Still Falls Short on GSP Reinstatement, Says Obama Administration
The Obama administration again faulted Bangladesh for insufficient reforms to infrastructure and labor conditions in the country and rejected its bid to rejoin the group of Generalized System of Preferences beneficiaries. Still, Bangladesh is continuously making progress in improving those conditions, said an interagency review led by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. GSP expired in June 2013, but many lawmakers and industry representatives are jockeying to advance a renewal bill in the first months of this Congress (see 1501130001).
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“There is more work to do, building on the collaboration between the government of Bangladesh, private sector stakeholders, and the International Labor Organization, to address the concerns about factory safety in the apparel sector,” said USTR Michael Froman in a statement (here). “We also urge the government to accelerate its efforts to ensure workers’ rights and to take measures to address continuing reports of harassment of and violence against labor activists who are attempting to exercise their rights.” After a similar review published in July 2014, USTR also said Bangladeshi conditions are improving, but not enough for GSP reinstatement (see 14070303).
Meanwhile, House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., said "violence towards union workers appears to be growing" in Bangladesh (here). "The violence at the Global Garments and Global Trousers factories, owned by the Azim Group, is deplorable. The Bangladeshi government must take a more active role in discouraging and remedying such violence," said Levin. "The apparel industry is a vital part of Bangladesh’s economy for its business and its workers. It is equally critical for them and for the citizens of our country and Europe who purchase three quarters of the apparel that it is made under safe conditions and with a living wage."