US Senators' veiled threat over GSP makes BD exporters edgy

The exporters enjoying GSP facilities from the US market have expressed their worries over the recent move by the US Senators to review the special facilities for Bangladesh on grounds of labour related 'disagreements'.

Not only the GSP beneficiaries, other exporters have also found the US lawmakers' plea alarming for the country's overall export sector.

The GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) is the facility that allows duty-free export from a country.

The US is the single-largest destination for the Bangladesh-made products. The country exported products worth $4.87 billion in 2011, while its export under GSP was $26.3 million led by tobacco products, frozen fish, furniture, ceramic and plastic products.

About 95 per cent of Bangladeshi products being exported to the US market now enjoy duty-free access, less than one per cent of the country's total exports, that exclude RMG, leather and jute and jute goods.

"Though the volume of plastic products' export to the US market is not very high, it is a potential market for us," president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) Md Jashim Uddin told the FE.

The US is one of the targeted markets for plastic products' export, which is also gradually increasing, he said adding the retail stores are showing interest in Bangladesh-made plastic products, especially the household ones.

"If Bangladesh is taken out of the GSP facility list, we will lose our competitiveness," he said.

Managing Director of Amam Sea Food Industries Ltd S Humayun Kabir said about 18 per cent of the total shrimp shipments worth $625 million in 2011-12 fiscal had been destined for US market.

The sector would face a serious blow which was now struggling hard to survive if the GSP facility was taken out, Khan Habibur Rahman,