Bangladesh to negotiate GSP+ with EU trade commissioner

Bangladesh will hold a meeting with the European Union (EU) trade commissioner to retain the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facilities in exporting goods to the EU market after graduating from the least developed country (LDC) status.

The meeting would be held on the sidelines of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference scheduled from November 30 to December 3 in Geneva, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh told journalists at his office on Tuesday. 

A Bangladesh trade delegation headed by Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi will attend the conference.

During the meeting with the EU trade commissioner, Bangladesh would once again request him to continue the duty-free benefits for apparel exports under the new GSP+ rules, Tapan told The Business Post.

The deadline for Bangladesh to inform the EU of its opinion on the safeguard provisions in the new rules for 2024-2034 will expire on 19 November.

Tapan said EU safeguard provisions would be imposed in the proposed rules. 

He said Bangladesh was already working on safeguard issues and would broadly discuss these at the meeting with the EU trade commissioner.   

The secretary said Bangladeshi apparel items might lose duty-free access after the adoption of the new rules by the EU parliament and the European council in December next year.

“If Bangladesh loses GSP facilities, it will have to pay 9.6 per cent duty to enter the EU market. But it will be able to retain the duty-free facilities for exports of products other than apparels under the new rules,” he added. 

Bangladesh’s garment sector currently enjoys duty-free exports to the EU market. Other most favoured nations pay 12 per cent on average to enter the market.   

Bangladesh’s exports to the EU, including the UK, rose from $2.5 billion in the fiscal year 2000-01 to $23 billion in FY19.

But due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, exports fell to $21 billion in FY21.

The EU’s current GSP regime will expire in 2023 and the new one will start from the beginning of 2024.