EU-Bangladesh GSP-plus discussion begins

The visiting European MPs from the trade committee have launched a dialogue on the future of EU-Bangladesh trade relations once Bangladesh evolves from an LDC to a middle-income country.

Then, a new arrangement for value-added trade relations called GSP-plus needs to be agreed, the European Union delegation in Bangladesh said on Thursday in a statement at the end of the visit.

The six-strong trade delegation of the European Parliament, led by Bernd Lange, Chair of the Committee on International Trade, will leave Dhaka on Friday ending their four-day trade-related "fact-finding" mission.

Jean Lambert, Chair of the delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia, Anges Jongerius, Hannu Takkula, Adam Szejnfeld and Boleslaw Piecha are the other members of the delegation.

They met Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Political Adviser to the Prime Minister HT Imam, and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, among others.

They discussed the GSP plus issue with the commerce minister.

Bangladesh as a LDC currently enjoys duty-free market access to European countries for all of its exports.

But once it graduates from the LDC status, Bangladesh will enter the value-added trade relations, known as GSP-plus. This would require Bangladesh to sign at least 27 core EU conventions.

The chair of the delegation, Lange, at a press briefing said Bangladesh had done “the best” among the LDCs economically using the EU market access privilege.

He said the preparations for the GSP-plus era should begin now as time is limited. Bangladesh has targeted 2021 to become a middle-income country.

Lange said the GSP-plus would require some conditions on "democratic development, labour standards and environment standards".