The United States on Sunday, presented an 11-point ‘Bangladesh Labor Action Plan’ and urged the government to comply with it to qualify for duty-free benefits and access funds from the US International Development Finance Corporation.

The visiting officials from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) handed over the action plan to the senior commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh during the intersessional meeting of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) between Bangladesh and the US, held at the Commerce Ministry in Dhaka.

Tapan led the Bangladesh delegation, while Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch led the US delegation in the meeting. The seventh round of TICFA meetings took place last September in Dhaka.

‘We briefed the USTR representatives on Bangladesh’s progress in labor sector reforms and requested duty-free entry for ready-made garments into the US market, as well as access to DFC funds,” the Commerce Secretary told reporters after the meeting.

‘If granting GSP privileges to Bangladesh is not feasible, we urged the USTR delegation to consider allowing duty-free market access for Bangladeshi ready-made garments manufactured with cotton imported from the US,’ Tapan said.

In the ‘Bangladesh Labor Action Plan,’ the US government proposed meaningful measures to prevent and hold individuals accountable for acts of violence and harassment against union organizers, workers, and lawful protest activities.

These actions include conducting thorough investigations, prosecuting perpetrators, imposing appropriate penalties, dropping or resolving criminal charges against labor activists, and publicly announcing credible steps taken.

The US demanded ensuring accountability for factory owners, management, and private individuals who engage in conduct violating workers’ rights as provided by the Bangladesh Labour Act, including unfair labor practices (ULPs).

This involves investigating and resolving specific alleged cases of ULPs by employers and enhancing access to justice for workers and trade unions in cases of anti-union discrimination, retaliation, and other unfair labor practices.

The US also recommended amending the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA), in consultation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), to align with international labor standards concerning freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The US urged Bangladesh to reduce the 20-per cent worker threshold for the registration of trade unions.

Additionally, the US urged the government to revoke the provision in the labor act that mandates the cancellation of a trade union if it falls below the minimum threshold.

The US also requested measures to ensure that workers in the export processing zones (EPZs) can exercise their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining fully.

This includes either bringing the EPZs under the purview of the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) to enable workers to form and join trade unions or implementing extensive reforms to the EPZ Labour Act to facilitate the formation of independent unions.

Tapan mentioned that the meeting discussed issues such as technology transfer support for establishing quality certification infrastructure, simplifying procedures for pharmaceutical product registration, and taking action on intellectual property rights.

He stated that Bangladesh requested investment from the US International Development Finance Corporation and simplified procedures for pharmaceutical product registration in the USA.

The meeting was attended by Jennifer Oetken, Director for Labor; Emily Ashb, Director for South Asia; Joseph Giblin, USTR IPR Counselor for South Asia; and the Economic Unit Chief of the US Embassy in Dhaka, among others.

Previously, during the Obama Administration, a 16-point Bangladesh Action Plan was provided in 2013 when the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status was suspended for Bangladesh due to poor working condition.

Bangladesh has already submitted a progress report on the 16-point conditions to the USTR for the reinstatement of the GSP, but it has yet to be restored.