Five (5) years and several high-profiled tragedies later, GSP
treatment of all goods of Bangladesh origin will be
suspended, effective September 3,
2013.
GSP stands for the Generalized System of Preferences which allows for
the duty-free entry of roughly 3,500 GSP eligible products.
The AFL-CIO exists to represent
people who work. Read their mission statement below.
In 2007, the GSP Subcommittee accepted for review a GSP country
practice petition submitted by the AFL-CIO seeking the removal
of GSP benefits for Bangladesh based on the
country's non-compliance with the GSP statutory eligibility criteria related to
worker rights.
The GSP Subcommittee held public hearings on the petition in October
2007, April 2009, and January 2012, and also invited public comments on the
petition on several occasions.
In 2011, U.S. imports from Bangladesh under GSP
totaled $26.3 million. A full list of U.S. imports from Bangladesh under GSP may be
found in the www.regulations.gov
in docket number USTR-2012-0036-0001.
While the leading GSP imports from Bangladesh included tobacco
products, sports equipment, china kitchenware, and plastic articles, by being a
GSP beneficiary country, it also had duty-free treatment on a number of textile
accessories and some women’s or girls wearing apparel.
After reviewing the most recently available information, including updated
reports from the AFL-CIO, the GSP
Subcommittee believed that the lack of progress by the government of Bangladesh in addressing
worker rights issues in the country warranted consideration of possible
withdrawal, suspension, or limitation of Bangladesh's trade benefits
under GSP.
By statute, i.e., law, however, such change in Bangladesh's trade benefits
under GSP required the President to make a determination, which he finally did.
On June 27, 2013, by
Proclamation, President Obama revoked Bangladesh’s privilege of
receiving treatment as a beneficiary developing country GSP.
As stated in his Proclamation, the reason for the revocation was
because Bangladesh “has not taken
or is not taking steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights to
workers in [its] country."
The original petition and other information related to the review of Bangladesh are available
for public viewing on www.regulations.gov in docket USTR-2012-0036.
For more information on GSP and GSP Eligible Products, click here.
AFL-CIO MISSION
STATEMENT (as per its website)
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations is an expression of the hopes and aspirations of the working
people of America.
We resolve to fulfill the yearning of the human spirit for liberty,
justice and community; to advance individual and associational freedom; to
vanquish oppression, privation and cruelty in all their forms; and to join
with all persons, of whatever nationality or faith, who cherish the cause of
democracy and the call of solidarity, to grace the planet with these
achievements.
We dedicate ourselves to improving the lives of working families,
bringing fairness and dignity to the workplace and securing social equity in
the Nation.
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