Tuesday, October 14, 2025

GSP suspension due to vindictive treatment of Yunus: Economist

The decision of the United States to suspend Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facilities for Bangladesh may have been triggered by the ruling Awami League’s seemingly vindictive treatment of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is widely seen as a darling of the West, and the killing of a labour organiser named Aminul Islam in custody, said London-based weekly news magazine The Economist. “Many other critics suspect that the AL’s seemingly vindictive treatment of Nobel prize-winning economist, Muhammad Yunus, may also have pushed America towards withdrawing the GSP,” it said on July 4.  “Mr Yunus is widely seen as a darling of the West and was awarded a Congressional medal in April 2013, to Mrs Hasina’s evident annoyance. A government commission had been established to conduct a workshop on splitting up the Grameen Bank, the micro-lending agency that won Mr Yunus his fame, on July 2 (its meeting was postponed after the GSP suspension was announced). The critics detect a wider campaign on the part of the AL against Mr Yunus, ever since he started hinting he might try his hand at politics, in 2006,” it also said.
“The fear now is that Bangladesh could lose its duty-free access to other trading partners, which could be devastating. The EU, for instance, takes 60 per cent of Bangladesh’s exported garments. The industry is bracing for hard times, both in the overseas markets and in the maelstrom of domestic politics,” it added
The report further said that part of the AL’s new anti-union policy was raised by America in its suspension of the GSP. In April 2012, a labour organiser named Aminul Islam was arrested, tortured in custody and then died under suspicious circumstances.
“Civil society groups in Dhaka and abroad who were angered by his death were among those who pushed for the GSP suspension. No arrests have been made in the case of Mr Aminul, which, according to pressure groups, has created a chilling effect. Human Rights Watch and others have sent rafts of letters to the government, but none has received a reply,” it said.
The report said that the garment industry, so close to the heart of Bangladesh’s economy, is smarting from a sudden suspension of its preferential access to the American market.
The suspension serves mainly a symbolic purpose, but it stings all the same. Readymade garments, the mainstay of Bangladesh’s exports, were not actually covered by America’s GSP facilities.
But it is well understood that the GSP was withdrawn in order to demonstrate America’s persistent frustration with the sector’s dire labour conditions and the fatality rate among its workers.
Readymade garments make up 90
per cent of the total value of Bangladeshi exports to America, which amounts to about $5 billion a year. Removing the GSP should have little immediate effect on these. What is being affected more broadly is the mood in the country, which has already been poisoned by the toxic state of its national politics.
The damage done to the garment industry was triggered by two of the worst industrial disasters on record, both happening in the space of just five months. Workers at Tazreen Fashions were trapped behind locked doors when the place caught fire in November 2012; at least 117 of them died.
Then, on April 24, a building named Rana Plaza collapsed in the industrial suburb of Savar. It contained five working factories. When it fell, 1,130 people were killed. An election that must be held sometime before January 2014 has turned the garment sector into a political battleground. This is unfortunate, not least because the industry‘s failures need to be taken seriously and remedied with haste. Its successes, too, could be used to teach lessons to the rest of the country.
In January 2013, Khaleda Zia, the leader of the opposition BNP, published a hysterical op-ed in an American newspaper in which she called on America and Britain to take punitive action in response to the disasters, in order to “save democracy” from the Awami League (AL), which won office in 2008 by a landslide.
Bangladesh’s business community has become familiar with a five-year cycle. As elections loom, the economy slows. Presently, the IMF expects it to dip beneath the 6 per cent rate of growth to which the country has become accustomed. This periodic slowdown happens mainly because whichever side happens to be in opposition goes to lengths to harm the economy and with it the ruling party’s prospects.
As America withdrew the GSP, the ruling AL’s information minister reminded the nation of Khaleda’s op-ed in The Washington Times. The BNP could do little to defend itself, but to make the extraordinary claim that the party had never submitted the article. Upon catching them out as flip-floppers, the AL shrieked that the BNP were “enemies of the nation” insofar as they had sought to harm the garment industry.
In choosing this line of attack, the AL revealed an alarming degree of forgetfulness. The party, as many will remember, came to power after inducing a military coup in 2006, which it accomplished in part by allying with leftists to cripple the garment sector. This sort of amnesia is not uncommon in Bangladeshi politics. After having won its way into office—arguably with the help of the army, which seized power in January 2007 and thus made way for the elections of 2008—the AL scrapped the military government which was supposed to serve as a caretaker through the next round of elections.
To cap it off, the AL created a special police force to keep in check those unruly unions—the same unions that took their side in 2006. One manager says that now the BNP is mimicking the AL’s own spoiler tactics by inciting the current worker agitations. Labour organisers concur. One of them compares both of the main political parties to “hawks”, circling the workers from above, seeking to make use of them for their own “dirty politics”.

-With The Independent input

Related News

Bangladesh and KSA sign pact for workers’ rights

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have just inked a labour recruitment agreement, marking the first deal aimed at promoting fair recruitment practices and protecting workers’ rights. Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser, Prof. Asif Nazrul, and the Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Engineer Ahmad Bin Solaiman Al-Rajhi, recently came ... Read more

Poor pay, allowances of teachers affect education

World Teacher’s Day today Shahin Akhter Poor pay-scale and allowances and low social status mark the poor condition of the teachers in Bangladesh affecting the education sector, observed educationists and researchers. They also said that the Bangladeshi teachers were lagging much behind their fellows even in the neighbouring countries in terms of these facilities and ... Read more

Protecting hilsa: 22-day fishing ban begins

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has put a 22-day halt on catching, transporting, storing, selling, and marketing hilsa throughout the country. This measure aims to protect the fish during its crucial breeding season. The ban started at midnight yesterday and will last until October 25, as stated in a notification from the Ministry of ... Read more

Road fatalities: 446 crashes, 417 lives lost in September

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In September, a tragic report from the Road Safety Foundation revealed that at least 417 people lost their lives and 682 were injured in 446 road accidents throughout Bangladesh. Among those who died, there were 63 women and 47 children, as highlighted in the foundation’s monthly report released today. In 151 ... Read more

Man’s fatal fall into Ramna Park lake

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A tragic incident occurred yesterday at Ramna Park in the capital, where a man drowned in the lake. The victim has been identified as 55-year-old Wasimul Haq. The police were able to identify him using fingerprint records. According to Ramna police SI Mizanur Rahman, he was discovered unconscious around 6:00 PM ... Read more

Tariff Commission’s size-based hilsa pricing strategy

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), also known as the Tariff Commission, has suggested setting a maximum retail price for hilsa based on its size. This recommendation comes in response to the unusual spike in prices seen in the local market. On Sunday, the Tariff Commission released a report detailing ... Read more

Ekushey Book Fair won’t happen in December

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangla Academy announced yesterday (28 September), that the previously scheduled dates for the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 have been postponed. In a press release, they explained that this decision was made following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 21, which indicated that the fair should ... Read more

Working in Bangladesh is quite challenging: CEC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Election Commission is grappling with a mix of challenges, both seen and unseen, as it gears up for the upcoming elections and responds to various demands, shared chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Saturday. “These hurdles might not be apparent from the outside, but we’re constantly navigating through them,” ... Read more

Travel ban on Keokradong hill to be lifted starting from 1 October

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Great news for travelers! Keokradong hill in Bandarban’s Ruma upazila is set to welcome tourists again starting October 1. The district administration has finally lifted the travel ban that had been in effect for almost three years. Bandarban Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shamim Ara Rini announced the decision today (27 September) during ... Read more

Tree planting campaign to lower pollution, make city more attractive

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Md Shahjahan Mia has inaugurated a tree plantation and greening programme covering 33 road medians, spanning a total length of 31 kilometres, within the corporation’s jurisdiction. Under the “Zero Soil” programme, ornamental flowering trees and grasses will be planted across 28 DSCC medians, while the ... Read more

Krishi Bank ranks third in remittance collection

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Krishi Bank has shown remarkable success in collecting remittances from expatriates during the first eight months of 2025 (January–August). Known as bank for farmers due to its agricultural loan services, this state-owned institution has climbed to the third position in remittance collection from abroad in that timeframe. This notable achievement has ... Read more

North Bay low : Rain forecast for Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Many parts of the country is expected to witness moderate to heavy and very heavy rainfall in the coming days due to the formation of a low-pressure system over the north Bay and adjoining coastal areas, the Met office said in its latest forecast. According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department’s 120-hour weather ... Read more

Metrorail boosts service: Extended hours & more frequent arrivals

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dhaka metrorail service is set to start operating earlier in the morning and later at night to better serve the growing number of passengers. Service hours will be extended by 30 minutes at both the beginning and end of the day, and the interval between trains will be reduced by nearly ... Read more

22% minors in Bangladesh’s sex trade

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 22 percent of victims of commercial sexual exploitation (abuse of a person, or a minor, through sexual activities in exchange for money, goods, or other benefits) in Bangladesh are children, said speakers at an event yesterday. They shared the information at the launch of “Project Shurakkha”, an initiative of ... Read more

WB Reports Bangladesh Heat Costs at $1.78 Billion in 2024

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Rising temperatures in Bangladesh are fueling a surge in heat-related illnesses, leading to the loss of 250 million workdays in 2024 and economic losses estimated at $1.33–1.78 billion, representing about 0.3 to 0.4 percent of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, according to a new World Bank report. The report ... Read more

Police clearance no longer required for passports

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus announced that police verification will no longer be necessary for obtaining a passport, thereby reducing unnecessary hassle for citizens. “Getting a passport is a basic right. We have established a rule that eliminates the need for police verification,” he stated. While speaking at the opening session ... Read more

Metro rail achieves record 4 lakh daily passengers

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Metro Rail has achieved a remarkable milestone by carrying over 400,000 passengers in a single day. The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), which operates the Metro Rail, announced this achievement on their official Facebook page on Friday night. For the first time, Metro Rail recorded 403,164 passengers. The Metro Rail ... Read more

Most people, about 66% think civil servants behave as if they are rulers

News Desk : dhakamirror.com More than 100,000 participants have contributed their responses to reform commission’s online survey 80% of the respondents believe that the administration is not approachable for the general public, according to a survey conducted by the Public Administration Reform Commission. Additionally, 66% of participants feel that civil servants act as if they ... Read more

Former Justice Abdur Rouf dies

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former Chief Election Commissioner Justice Md Abdur Rouf has passed away at the age of 91. He died around 10:00 am while receiving treatment at Insaf Barakah Kidney and General Hospital in Dhaka, as stated in a press release. Justice Rouf had been battling heart disease, lung complications, kidney issues, and ... Read more

Bangladesh climbed 4 positions to rank 93rd in global passport index

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh has climbed four notches up in the latest Henley Passport Index 2025, ranking 93rd out of 99. However, the number of visa-free destinations for Bangladeshi passport holders has dropped from 42 in 2024 to 39 this year, reflecting a decline in global travel privileges. Despite this improvement in rank — ... Read more