Bangladesh expressed dismay at a U.S. decision to
cut duty-free trade access, insisting Friday that the government has
taken concrete steps to improve safety and working conditions since a
factory collapse in April killed more than 1,000 garment workers.
The U.S. had suspended the trade benefits a day earlier, saying Bangladesh hasn't moved to extend internationally recognized rights to workers.
The decision is "shocking for the factory workers," Bangladesh's
foreign ministry declared in a statement, accusing "a section of people"
in both countries of having campaigned for the cutoff.
"We're committed to working with our U.S. counterparts and we hope
this suspension will be lifted very quickly," commerce secretary Mahbub
Ahmed told The Wall Street Journal. His government, he said, has taken
steps to amend the labor law to allow workers to unionize freely, formed
a ministerial committee to ensure factory compliance and pushed through
an agreement among the government, factory owners and workers to ensure
worker rights.
The suspension, due to begin in two months, is regarded as largely
symbolic. It's expected to raise U.S. import duties on goods including
golf equipment, kitchen appliances and ceramics, but it would have
little effect on the country's garment industry, which does not qualify
for duty-free access. U.S. imports from Bangladesh under the program in
2011 totaled only $26 million. By contrast, the garment industry's
global exports come to some $20 billion a year, with the U.S. buying
about a quarter.
But experts say the U.S. decision could heighten pressure on foreign
brands to continue reducing orders from Bangladesh factories. There's
also a danger that the European Union, which purchases two-thirds of
Bangladesh's apparel exports and does allow duty-free garment imports,
could consider similar moves.
The decision marks a victory for U.S. labor groups, including the
AFL-CIO, which has campaigned for an end to trade benefits unless
Bangladesh allows internationally recognized labor rights.
The foreign-ministry statement said that while Bangladesh respects
its trading partners' choices, it's deeply concerned about putting
obstacles in the way of its flourishing trade with the U.S.
"Bangladesh believes that its partnership with the U.S.A is founded
on certain core values such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law,
women empowerment, freedom of expression and social justice," it said.
Mr. Ahmed said the government has given the U.S. trade representative
documents highlighting progress made in labor rights and working
conditions over the years.
"'We want to make clear the progress we have made in implementing
workers' rights in all our export industries, including garments, in the
last two decades," said Mr. Ahmed. "Working conditions in Bangladesh
will not become the same as the West overnight. But we're making
progress: We've eliminated child labor and many of our newer factories
are world class."
The country's clothing industry has boomed in recent years, in large
part due to a minimum monthly wage of $37, significantly lower than
China's. But there has been instability, too, including a strike last
year that affected about 300 factories in an industrial hub outside
Dhaka for two weeks, ending only when the government stepped in with
promises of better pay and job security. The death last year of labor
activist Aminul Islam, whose body showed signs of torture, has added to
the tense atmosphere.
Despite the high-profile accidents, the garment industry generally
offers better labor standards than prevail in, for example, the jute and
construction industries, said Ahsan Mansur, executive director of the
Policy Research Institute, a Dhaka-based think tank.
"There is simply no other industry that can absorb the three million
workers that the garment industry employs," he added. "In the overall
context of rural poverty, working in a garments factory is a significant
improvement."
In a 2011 study by McKinsey & Co., 93% of U.S. and European
suppliers surveyed said labor standards in the Bangladeshi garment
industry had improved over the previous five years, though those
standards varied greatly from one factory to another
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