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Frustrated over the failure to retain the Generalised System of Preference ( GSP ) status from the United States , Bangladesh ’ s Government says there is no hope left for it and there will be no more asking for it .
“ Bangladesh has fulfilled all the criteria the US has asked . But even then , they are putting forward one condition after another . In this circumstance , there is no possibility that Bangladesh will retain the GSP facility . We will ask for it no more ,” Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said . Speaking to reporters at his Bangladesh Secretariat , the Industries Minister added that Bangladesh will soon graduate to a developing country . Then , there would be no more scope to obtain
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GSP facility from the US . Markedly , the US is Bangladesh ’ s singlebiggest apparel export destination . For five years now , the country has been trying to retain the GSP facility that was suspended in June 2013 citing serious shortcomings in safety and labour standards in the wake of some major industrial disasters in Bangladesh .
“ Currently , the Government of Bangladesh almost pays 16.5 per cent duty on apparel export to the US , i . e . about US $ 900 million . Even then , it remains Bangladesh ’ s single biggest export destination with 16.78 per cent of the country ’ s total exports ,” Amu said . Claiming that the withdrawal of US ’ GSP facility came to do no harm for Bangladesh , the Minister said
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Bangladesh is now concentrating on obtaining the GSP Plus facility of the European Union when it graduates into a developing nation in March . Fazle Shamim Ehsan , Second Vice President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association ( BKMEA ), told Apparel Online that GSP facility from the US |
‘ does not benefit Bangladesh much ’. He maintained that it will not affect apparel exports of the country .
“ Moreover , I think , all the conditions they impose on us for the sake of GSP is too much sometimes . Our Government is right in not pursuing the US ’ GSP ,” Ehsan underlined .
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The Government has recently launched a mobile application for the appropriate management of its over 3.6 million workforce in the readymade garment industry .
The app , named ‘ Labour Inspection Management Application ’ or LIMA , will be used by the Department of Inspections for Factories and Establishments ( DIFE ) to gather , store and evaluate the labour inspection data at the garment manufacturing units .
Md . Mujibul Haque , State Minister for Labour and Employment , launched the app at an event at Amari Hotel , Dhaka , Bangladesh on March 6 , 2018 . He also handed 250 tablets to the DIFE inspectors ,
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to be used for assessment , at the event .
International Labour Organization ’ s ( ILO ) working conditions in the Ready-Made Garment Sector Programme , backed by Canada , the Netherlands and the UK , supported in the development of the LIMA app .
State Minister Haque lauded the app as ‘ a milestone in the march towards a Digital Bangladesh ’ and a proof of Bangladesh Government ’ s commitment towards ensuring workplace safety and labour rights .
In a statement , ILO ’ s Dhaka office said that the LIMA app is set to make DIFE ’ s operations far more
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effective by conjoining its key data and management requirements on a single platform .
The newly launched app reportedly will improve data
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availability and transparency by making certain information available to employers and workers while simplifying everyday tasks such as factory licence applications or the submission of complaints . There ’ s a ‘ DIFE Complaint Box ’ as well in the app that enables labourers and managers to file a complaint to DIFE about factory concerns .
Shamsuzzaman Bhuiyan , Inspector General of DIFE , hopes that the launch of LIMA would tick-off a new episode in labour inspection in the garment industry . The app would facilitate more effective operations and help enhance safety of the workers , he added .
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