‘GSP to return if not politicised’

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has said Bangladesh will get back its GSP (Generalised System of Preference) facility in the US market if the issue is not politicised.

His said this on Monday while speaking at the closing session of a training workshop for economics reporters in Dhaka.

Tofail said: “At present, products of no country enjoy GSP facility in the US market. GSP phased out in July, 2013. If it is renewed, there is no reason for us not to get it back, unless it’s politicised.”

He said Bangladesh had already fulfilled most of the conditions set by the US to get back the GSP facility. “The few not yet fulfilled are time-consuming, but they are being implemented.”

President Barack Obama suspended, in June last year, the long-time US preferential trade benefit for Bangladesh after two devastating incidents in the RMG sector that claimed more than 1,200 lives.

The government has, however, blamed the BNP’s ‘negative propaganda’ for the GSP revocation.

Tofail said: “There’s no way to deny that there was political unrest in the country in 2013. Exports increased despite that. Bangladesh is holding the (world’s) second position in export of readymade garment. So, conspiracies are being hatched against (our) RMG industry by various quarters.”

He urged reporters to work with a ‘positive’ attitude.

The three-day training workshop was organised for members of the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) at the Press Institute of Bangladesh auditorium.

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Chief Editor Abul Kalam Azad, PIB Director General Md Shah Alamgir, and ERF President Sultan Mahmud Badal and General Secretary Sazzadur Rahman also spoke at the event.

Thirty-five reporters from different media outlets attended the workshop.