U.S. suspends trade benefits for Bangladesh over safety

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"Countries that tolerate dangerous - and even deadly - working conditions and deny basic workers' rights, especially the right to freedom of association, will risk losing preferential access to the U.S. market."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Reuters
By Doug Palmer | June 27, 2013

WASHINGTON | (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday cut off longtime U.S. trade benefits for Bangladesh in a mostly symbolic response to dangerous conditions in that country's garment industry that have cost more than 1,200 lives in the past year.

"I have determined that it is appropriate to suspend Bangladesh ... because it is not taking steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights to workers in the country," Obama said in a statement.

The U.S. sanction does not directly affect Bangladesh's multi-billion-dollar clothing exports to the United States, which came under scrutiny after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in April that killed 1,129 people and the Tazreen factory fire in November that killed 112.

But it could influence the European Union to take similar action, which would have a much bigger impact on Bangladesh and its garment sector.

"This was not a decision taken lightly," new U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters on a phone call. "Our goal, of course, is not only to see Bangladesh restore its eligibility for (the trade) benefits, but to see Bangladeshi workers in safe, appropriate work situations."

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, said the decision sent an important message to countries that receive duty-free access to the U.S. market under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

"Countries that tolerate dangerous - and even deadly - working conditions and deny basic workers' rights, especially the right to freedom of association, will risk losing preferential access to the U.S. market," Trumka said.

It also puts American companies on notice they must take meaningful steps to improve conditions for Bangladesh's factory workers, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said in a statement.

"No one will want to wear clothing that is ‘Made in Bangladesh' if it is made on the blood of workers. It's time for American industry to show leadership and work with their European counterparts on a global standard for safety."

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(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Vicki Allen, Mary Milliken and Richard Chang)


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