Bangladesh 'shocked' over US suspending trade privileges

Bangladesh government has expressed shock and resentment over US' decision to call off trade privileges with Bangladesh amidst concerns about working conditions and labour rights of factory workers.

According to BBC, the recent collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building, which killed 127 workers, has led to a rise in concerns at the international level about the safety standards and labour rights of the workers.

Foreign ministry of Bangladesh has called US' decision of suspending Bangladesh's duty-free privileges as 'harsh' and said that the government has taken clear measures to improve safety at the garment factories.

Bangladesh is the second biggest exporter of garments in the world after China, and the factory disaster has drawn a lot of international attention to the grave problem of security and safety standards.

The report said that following the disaster protests by garment factory workers and heightened international concern prompted the government to take necessary measures to introduce some reforms in the guidelines and international retailers too have stepped in to improve safety conditions.

However, protestors argue that there still remain hundreds of buildings in shoddy conditions which can trigger another disaster.

The suspended Bangladesh duty free privilege under the terms of a trade programme called the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) has been designed to promote economic growth in developing countries.

US president Barack Obama has said that Bangladesh has not taken any steps to improve the safety conditions for the workers or to afford internationally recognized rights of its workers.

The decision which comes into effect in 60 days is mostly symbolic as it covers less than 1percent of Bangladesh's nearly 5billion dollars exports to the US and it does not affect clothing exports, the report added.