EU mission in city to appraise labour, human rights for GSP continuation
BI Report || BusinessInsider
European Union logo is seen in a flat. Photo: Representational
A European Union mission is in the city to take stock of Bangladesh’s labour and human rights standards to examine the country’s eligibility to qualify continuing GSP or duty-free benefits, in the EU market.
The EU team will sit with their Bangladeshi counterpart comprising officials of foreign and commerce ministries to discuss those two major issues, on Monday, officials said.
The EU team arrived in Dhaka on Sunday. Jordi Curell Gotor, the director of the International Affairs at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) of the EU, is leading the mission comprising officials of the Directorate-General for Trade and European External Action Service. They will leave the country on March 17.
“We have been preparing ourselves for the EU meeting for a very long time,” said an official of the commerce ministry, who requested anonymity.
He said: “We hope that the EU will continue to render the GSP benefits on the exports of Bangladesh as the authorities concerned here address any labour and human rights issues.”
A number of seven committees headed by principal secretary to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Dr Ahmad Kaikaus have worked on various labour sector issues which the EU seemed concerned about.
A national action plan on labour rights has already been submitted to the EU’s Bangladesh embassy, the official said.
Over 118 issues including registration of labour unions at various industrial factories, amendment to the labour laws and Bangladesh Economic Zones Act, have been incorporated in the national action plan on the labour sector.
“After graduating from the least developed countries, Bangladesh should continue to enjoy two GSPs---GSP plus and standard GSP in the EU market,” the bureaucrat told the Business Insider Bangladesh on Sunday.
Currently, Bangladesh is enjoying EBA GSP (everything but arms GSP) for shipping merchandise to the EU countries.
Bangladesh, still a least developed country, will continue to enjoy the EU’s existing GSP, until it expires in December of 2023. The new scheme, once adopted, will be applied from 1 January, 2024, he said.
