The EU delegation has also underscored the need for assessing the post-middle income country status when Bangladesh won’t be able to enjoy duty and quota-free market access to the EU countries. The press briefing was attended, among others, by the EU head of delegation in Dhaka Pierre Mayaudon, BGMEA Senior Vice President Faruque Hassan and Vice Presidents-Mahmud Hasan Khan and Mohammed Nasir. In this regard, Lange further clarified: “If the LDC status of Bangladesh is disappeared, we have to discuss about other provisions like GSPP Plus.”“The GSP plus links with some requirements of 27 international norms on labour rights and environmental issues,” he added. We are here to oversee the overall situation especially the development related to workplace safety and labour rights issuesAs the representative of 500 million people, the EU parliament is responsible for any trade agreement, he said further adding that trade relation between Bangladesh and EU is important because 60% of Bangladesh’s export are destined to the EU, said the EU delegation leader. The proposed remediation coordination cell would look after the post 2018 safety activities led by Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments where International Labour Organisation and other concerned stakeholders would be involved.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 15, 2016 18:09 UTC