As garment factory fires and building
collapses continue to claim more lives in Bangladesh, the US government must
change course and send a strong message that business as usual in Bangladesh
must end. Removing GSP benefits for Bangladesh, a country that has repeatedly
failed to address worker rights issues across several industries, will send
that message.

Some concerns have been raised as to the
monetary consequences of removing GSP benefits for Bangladesh. Notably, there
is a concern that stripping Bangladesh of GSP will hurt industries that support
workers, doing more harm than good. But a closer look at the benefits that the
country receives under the GSP program reveals that the United States is
supporting an industry that does not, in fact, support its workers.

In 2012, the
tobacco sector was the largest beneficiary of Bangladesh’s GSP program,
accounting for over $11 million in tobacco exports out of $35 million in total
GSP exports. While the trade benefits under the GSP program may benefit the
growing Bangladeshi tobacco industry in the short term, over the long term, the
incentives that the GSP program provides have led to the rapid increase in
tobacco production. This increased production creates a net negative impact on
the health of US citizens and Bangladeshi citizens in the form of increased
tobacco use, increased health care costs, and decreased government revenue that
otherwise could be applied to tobacco prevention programs. It is widely known
and accepted that tobacco is the cause of nearly 6 million deaths every year,
and encouraging tobacco production through the GSP program can only make that
number grow.

“There is a
strong argument that neither Bangladesh nor the U.S. should be subsidizing
trade in tobacco,” said Laurent Huber, director of Action on Smoking and
Health. “Both have signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which
Bangladesh has ratified, committing both countries to fighting the growing
global tobacco epidemic.”

However, the
damaging effects of tobacco are not limited to health concerns of consumers. In addition to the high costs of seeds and fertilizers which have
made farmers dependent on tobacco companies through debt-bondage, tobacco is
one of the most labor-intensive cash crops in the world. As farmers transition
into tobacco production, family members are enlisted to assist with the high
labor requirements. As a result, the tobacco crop is associated with child
labor in Bangladesh and over thirty other tobacco growing developing countries.
There are also numerous health risks associated with tobacco growing. Tobacco
farmers and family members experience green tobacco sickness (nicotine
poisoning through the skin), pesticide poisoning, and respiratory disease due
to inhalation of dust from raw tobacco leaves.   

Tobacco is a
relatively minor crop in overall
agriculture in Bangladesh, but its influence is rapidly growing. Between 2011
and 2012, tobacco exports under the GSP program have more than doubled, from $5
million to $11 million. Furthermore, tobacco as
a share of overall exports has risen rapidly, from about 2.5 percent in
2000 to nearly 34 percent in 2009. These statistics represent a dangerous
growth trend in a sector that is responsible for the death and impoverishment
of hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi and US citizens every year. The
expansion of tobacco growing is made easier as the GSP program encourages
production through the absence of tariffs.

Withdrawing GSP benefits for Bangladesh could substantially
prevent or potentially eradicate tobacco-related child labor problems and
workers’ rights violations. With the suspension of the GSP program in
Bangladesh, newly applied tariffs can deter tobacco production and consumption.
Tobacco is a unique product in international trade. When used exactly as
intended, it kills, and it should therefore not be promoted.

Along with
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the Human Rights and Tobacco Control
Network, and the Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health (CPATH), the
International Labor Rights Forum has called on the US Trade Representative to
take these comments in consideration as the decision on GSP benefits for
Bangladesh is finalized this week.

Click here to access the the letter that was sent to the USTR.