Bangladesh closer than ever to regain GSP: US

Bangladesh is closer than ever to get back trade privileges under the GSP (Generalised System of Preferences), the United States has said, without providing any specific timeframe for the restoration of the trade facilities that was suspended in June, 2013.
“The GSP will be restored upon completion of the 16 points in the Action Plan. I cannot predict the timeframe. The process of returning the GSP does not happen in a single meeting,” David Meale, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Dhaka, told a roundtable on Wednesday organised for a selected group of journalists at the American Centre in the capital.     
The process involves evaluation by our agencies in Washington and we are working in a good direction since last September, Meale said, adding, “We are closer than before to the restoration of the GSP.”
The roundtable was organised to brief on the just concluded second meeting under TICFA (Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement) held in Washington on November 23 and TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership).
Describing the TICFA meeting as successful, the deputy chief of US mission, who represented the US embassy in the meeting, said, “It was more than a GSP meeting. The TICFA meeting was meant to find out how to broaden economic relations between the US and Bangladesh.”
“I reject the idea that the GSP suspension has singlehandedly affected the reputation of Bangladesh. There are other issues involved,” he told a questioner.
“The image of Bangladesh is going up due to its engagements with the international community to make progress in areas like building safety, workers’ rights, fire safety, and higher international standards. Of course, more needs to be done,” he added.
Meale said, “We took the stock of the progress with regard to the GSP. We recognise the progress made by Bangladesh and noted areas where more needs to be done.”

The Sustainability Compact review in January as well as the upcoming 3+5 meeting will document the progress Bangladesh has made and what needs to be done, he said.
“I don’t agree that TICFA is meaningless without GSP. There is so much more to our economic relationship.  The GSP applies to less than per cent of trade.  The GSP does not apply to investment. It does not affect the great skills that thousands of Bangladeshis are obtaining by studying in the US. Of course, GSP matters a lot in Bangladesh. GSP is a tangible issue,” he added.
To another question, the US official said, “The USTR has very high standards of evaluation. No other element of the bilateral relationship has anything to do with decisions regarding the GSP.”
About the second TICFA meeting, Meale said, “Everything was positive and it was a successful meeting. I think Bangladesh side will say the same thing. I could not have been happier with how it went.”
“We talked about other issues. We talked about how to make the investment climate more attractive to American investors as American companies are keen to invest in Bangladesh. American companies are interested in investing in the energy sector, infrastructure, and in the consumer market. American companies are excited about Bangladesh’s market of 160 million people,” he said.
“There are enormous opportunities on both sides to export more. Bangladesh can diversify products. Apart from RMG, it can export products like pharmaceuticals, leather goods, and bicycles,” Meale said.
Last year, Bangladesh’s exports to the US were $5.3 billion and imports from the US were $1.1 billion, he said, adding that there is quite a scope for the US to increase exports to Bangladesh and reduce the trade imbalance.
“The US can invest in the energy sector, help build roads and infrastructure for future economic growth, and sell its high quality products in a range of sectors needed to boost Bangladesh’s prosperity,” said the deputy chief of mission.
He, however, said that there are some challenges with regard to attracting American investments to Bangladesh, like navigating the bureaucracy in Bangladesh and the lack of knowledge about Bangladesh among American investors.
“We agreed that we should be looking all avenues to enhance commercial relations between our two countries,” Meale said.
Responding to another query, he said, “The issue related to labour rights in EPZs is one of the most important issues. International labour standards should be there in accordance with the international convention signed by Bangladesh.”
Bangladesh has raised concerns regarding the TPP, the US official.
“It will take time for all the TPP provisions to be put into effect so there remains significant time for Bangladesh to respond,” he said.
“We generally briefed the Bangladesh side on the TPP.   At some point in the future, if Bangladesh decides it wishes to commit to the high standards in the TPP, it may wish to signal its interest in joining the pact,” said Meale.
“The future of Bangladesh’s RMG depends on many complicated factors — not just on the tariff rates in the TPP countries,” he said.
On November 24, there were additional private meetings that included events with former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and labour organisations, he informed.

Bangladesh closer than ever to regain GSP: US

Bangladesh is closer than ever to get back trade privileges under the GSP (Generalised System of Preferences), the United States has said, without providing any specific timeframe for the restoration of the trade facilities that was suspended in June, 2013. The GSP will be restored upon completion of the 16 points in the Action Plan. I cannot predict the timeframe. The process of returning the GSP does not happen in a single meeting, David Meale, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Dhaka, told a roundtable on Wednesday organised for a selected group of journalists at the American Centre in the capital. The process involves evaluation by our agencies in Washington and we are working in a good direction since last September, Meale said, adding, We are closer than before to the restoration of the GSP. The roundtable was organised to brief on the just concluded second meeting under TICFA (Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement) held in Washington on November 23 and TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership). Describing the TICFA meeting as successful, the deputy chief of US mission, who represented the US embassy in the meeting, said, It was more than a GSP meeting. The TICFA meeting was meant to find out how to broaden economic relations between the US and Bangladesh. I reject the idea that the GSP suspension has singlehandedly affected the reputation of Bangladesh. There are other issues involved, he told a questioner. The image of Bangladesh is going up due to its engagements with the international community to make progress in areas like building safety, workers rights, fire safety, and higher international standards. Of course, more needs to be done, he added. Meale said, We took the stock of the progress with regard to the GSP. We recognise the progress made by Bangladesh and noted areas where more needs to be done. The Sustainability Compact review in January as well as the upcoming 3+5 meeting will document the progress Bangladesh has made and what needs to be done, he said. I dont agree that TICFA is meaningless without GSP. There is so much more to our economic relationship. The GSP applies to less than per cent of trade. The GSP does not apply to investment. It does not affect the great skills that thousands of Bangladeshis are obtaining by studying in the US. Of course, GSP matters a lot in Bangladesh. GSP is a tangible issue, he added. To another question, the US official said, The USTR has very high standards of evaluation. No other element of the bilateral relationship has anything to do with decisions regarding the GSP. About the second TICFA meeting, Meale said, Everything was positive and it was a successful meeting. I think Bangladesh side will say the same thing. I could not have been happier with how it went. We talked about other issues. We talked about how to make the investment climate more attractive to American investors as American companies are keen to invest in Bangladesh. American companies are interested in investing in the energy sector, infrastructure, and in the consumer market. American companies are excited about Bangladeshs market of 160 million people, he said. There are enormous opportunities on both sides to export more. Bangladesh can diversify products. Apart from RMG, it can export products like pharmaceuticals, leather goods, and bicycles, Meale said. Last year, Bangladeshs exports to the US were $5.3 billion and imports from the US were $1.1 billion, he said, adding that there is quite a scope for the US to increase exports to Bangladesh and reduce the trade imbalance. The US can invest in the energy sector, help build roads and infrastructure for future economic growth, and sell its high quality products in a range of sectors needed to boost Bangladeshs prosperity, said the deputy chief of mission. He, however, said that there are some challenges with regard to attracting American investments to Bangladesh, like navigating the bureaucracy in Bangladesh and the lack of knowledge about Bangladesh among American investors. We agreed that we should be looking all avenues to enhance commercial relations between our two countries, Meale said. Responding to another query, he said, The issue related to labour rights in EPZs is one of the most important issues. International labour standards should be there in accordance with the international convention signed by Bangladesh. Bangladesh has raised concerns regarding the TPP, the US official. It will take time for all the TPP provisions to be put into effect so there remains significant time for Bangladesh to respond, he said. We generally briefed the Bangladesh side on the TPP. At some point in the future, if Bangladesh decides it wishes to commit to the high standards in the TPP, it may wish to signal its interest in joining the pact, said Meale. The future of Bangladeshs RMG depends on many complicated factors not just on the tariff rates in the TPP countries, he said. On November 24, there were additional private meetings that included events with former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and labour organisations, he informed.