AppId is over the quota
FE Report
German Ambassador to Bangladesh Albrecht Conze cautioned Bangladesh Saturday that the fear of losing Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) privilege in the EU countries has not yet been over as it does not depend on the decision of a national government.
He also said Bangladesh would have to face more severe effect out of cancellation of the GSP advantages than the US decision to cancel it.
"Would Europe consider suspending GSP privileges for Bangladesh, it would have much more tangible effect than the American decision because US decision effect was for many things but not for garment," Mr Conze said.
"I cannot say that the thunderstorm has gone away from the Bangladesh's sky which could erupt would Europe come to a decision to suspend," he added.
Mr Conze was speaking at the inaugural session of a roundtable discussion on 'Multi Stakeholder Consultation on National and International Initiatives for Workplace Safety in the RMG Sector in Bangladesh'. Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) jointly organised the discussion at the Brac Centre Inn in the city.
BILS Vice Chairman Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan chaired the session while Labour Secretary Mikhail Shipar, BILS Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan and FES Resident Representative Henrik Maihack were present, among others.
Describing the changed scenario and damage of the image of Bangladesh to the German buyers after the two tragic incidents in Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions, the ambassador said the image of the country has suffered a severe blow in his country due to the media reports which held both the buyers and the Bangladeshi garment producers responsible for the incidents.
"The decision of suspending or keeping (GSP advantages) does not lie with the national governments in Europe," said he.
He explained the GSP affair is the EU's commercial policy which is 100 per cent centralised in Brussels.
"EU has been closely monitoring the situationÂ?.There is a reputational problem for this country now which gives headache for both Bangladesh and their foreign friends," said the ambassador.
He said if the national governments fail to do anything effective relating to improvement of the situation, media will force them to do it (cancellation of GSP).
"The heat is on and I hope everybody who is responsible fully understood this," said Mr Conze.
The ambassador noted six challenges that Bangladesh has to face with regard to the RMG industry and its future.
The first one is the need for overall coordination among the various international initiatives which can only be tracked down by specialists and not general people.
"Fund is not a problem now. The problem is implementation which can only be ensured when all these initiatives will have coordination," said Mr Conze.
BILS Assistant Executive Director Sultanuddin Ahmed made a power point presentation on 'Safety in RMG industry -- Recent Experiences, National and International Initiatives: An Overview'.
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