‘Bangladesh should reform labour laws for EU’s GSP Plus regime’

Bangladesh's market access to the European Union under the proposed GSP Plus regime depends on the alignment of the south Asian country's labour law with the international standards, European Union (EU) Ambassador in Bangladesh Charles Whiteley said today.

"We are closely following the ongoing amendment of the Bangladesh Labour Act [BLA]. We hope that the amendment will be done with full transparency and in consultation with tripartite stakeholders and with technical assistance from ILO."

If Bangladesh does not fulfil the BLA revision according to the action plan, this would be a major setback for the implementation process, he said.

"Having said that, I look forward to the panel on GSP+ and know the perspectives from a mixed group of industrial sectors."

The EU ambassador made the comments at a seminar on "Unlocking trade and investment for European companies in Bangladesh" jointly organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and the EU at Renaissance Hotel in Dhaka.

Bangladesh's graduation from a least developed country (LDC) will mark the end of a longstanding trade relation that Bangladesh is enjoying under the Everything but Arms (EBA) trade regime. Bangladesh has the option to demand access to GSP Plus, which is the next most generous GSP programme after EBA.

Bangladesh's graduation will take place in 2026 and the EU will continue the LDC trade facility up to 2029 as the EU offers a grace period of three years to an LDC graduating nation.

The implementation of the national action plan on the labour sector, which Bangladesh agreed with the EU, will be the key deciding factor for GSP+.

"Today Bangladesh is a rising economy with an amazing story of economic development and social progress," the ambassador said at the event.

The graduation to a lower-middle income and a developing country are historic milestones, which bring new opportunities and which call for a reinvigoration of EU-Bangladesh ties, he said.

In the last eight years, over $5 billion worth of foreign direct investment came to Bangladesh from the EU countries, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and DCCI President Md Sameer Sattar also spoke.