Published in Bangladesh Post on Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Bangladesh eyes GSP plus benefit
Ahmed Shahin
The country has both challenges and opportunities to achieve GSP plus benefit from European Union countries, after the expiry of existing Generalised Scheme of Preference (GSP).
The European Union offers GSP plus benefit, a special incentive arrangement for developing countries with full removal of tariffs on over 66 percent of EU tariff lines.
The countries, which are getting GSP benefit currently, are only eligible to apply for the scheme.
As Bangladesh has been graduated to developing country from least developed one, it will cease to get the existing GSP benefit in foreign markets.
However, the facility will continue till 2027, and the country will be able to apply for the next tariff preferences.
The country is required to ratify the 27 GSP plus relevant international conventions like preserving civil and political rights, economic social and cultural rights, preservation of children rights, prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst child labour, abolition of forced labour, effective steps against corruption and so on.
Sources said the country has already ratified 25 conventions, and is now pondering over the rest two conditions.
However, the country has also some major challenges to achieve GSP plus benefit, business and commerce analysts said.
Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), told Bangladesh Post that the country has both challenges and opportunities.
The country might face challenges in fulfilling conditions relating to environment, corruption, good governance, he said adding the government should discuss with EU and its other stakeholders to know about the acceptable level of implementation, he said.
As the country is a new member of the group the EU might not impose criteria strictly. They would want to see the country’s sincerity towards the implementation of conditions, he added.
Currently, there are nine countries from the EU list of 28, including neighbouring India and Pakistan, getting GSP plus benefits.
RMG sector is the key export driver of the country, which accounts for 80 percent of the annual export income.
In fiscal 2016-17, the country’s export earnings were recorded at $34.8 billion, of which $19 billion was fetched from EU countries.
The export earnings from the RMG during the fiscal were worth $28 billion. The amount included $18 billion from RMG export to the EU countries.
BGMEA vice president M Nasir expressed the hope that his organisation along with the government will fulfill the requirements within the timeframe.
“As we have still some years in hand, and if we all work sincerely, the country will achieve the GSP plus status from the moment the existing GSP benefit expires,” he told Bangladesh Post.
He said: “We may face challenges regarding some issues, but with a combined and sincere effort we will overcome.”