The suspension of GSP facilities by the US has prompted hot discussions in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia blamed each other for 'inducing' the US president to take the step. But neither the US president nor the EU would ever be prompted to make such a decision because of any statement of either of our leaders, who should be more responsible in their requests to foreign leaders.

US's suspension of GSP facilities is not only an economic decision, it is political as well. The process started in 2007 with AFL-CIO's petition for withdrawal of GSP benefits to Bangladesh on the ground of labour conditions. It gained strength with the killing of labour activist Aminul Islam and the fire accident at Tazreen Fashions. The final blow was the collapse of Rana Plaza. All these tragedies brought the poor labour conditions in the country into sharp focus.

The New York Times editorial on June 27 said: "Ms. Hasina has repeatedly said her government would beef up inspections and make it easier for workers to form unions, but she has not done enough to follow through. Her government recently proposed changes to the country's labour laws that would not allow workers to unionise in export-processing zones where many large factories are."

The Economist wrote on May 4: "Bangladesh's garment business has growing clout. The BGMEA's 4,000 members account for four of every five dollars earned from exports. And the industry is tied to the corrupt political system: at least 25 MPs have investments in the garment business."

The suspension itself is not likely to cause much harm to Bangladesh's trade, but it may prompt the EU to follow suit, and that will be a big worry for the country's policymakers. Now the government has decided to give workers frill freedom to run trade union in factories. The government is hopefill of persuading the US for reinstatement of GSP.

Why can't we move forward on our own instead of waiting for others from outside to tell us to do the right thing, in this case for 4 million garment workers?

The writer Is Research and Publication Officer, Centre for Development Innovation and Practices.