I’ve written a ton about phony so-called “free trade” and, a close cousin, the whole system of Generalized System of Preferences, which basically is a sham run by the World Trade Organization to open up countries to be plundered by big corporations. But, since the system exists right now, it’s a point of leverage to move a bit of safety into the lives of the garment workers in Bangladesh.

I meant to post this the other day. Interesting tidbit of news:

After several deadly factory disasters in Bangladesh — including the collapse of an eight-story garment factory last month that left at least 1,127 people dead — labor advocates are stepping up pressure on the Obama administration, calling for it to convey its disapproval of working conditions in the country by revoking its special trade status.

…Bangladesh is among more than 125 countries that receive breaks on United States tariffs under a World Trade Organization program, the Generalized System of Preferences, intended to promote economic growth around the globe. The United States trade representative is to decide the fate of the country’s trade status in June.

In meetings this month to discuss the disasters, officials from the State and Labor Departments agreed that Bangladesh had failed to improve labor rights sufficiently but they disagreed over what to do about it.

Some State Department officials argued that taking away Bangladesh’s preferential trade status would damage diplomatic relations with a country that has faced repeated Islamist threats and hurt its economy, which has lately averaged trade-fueled growth of about 6 percent a year.

I’m altogether skeptical about any measures like this or monitoring that don’t include full rights to unionize because every scheme short of giving workers power at the workplace is ripe for abuse, undermining and under-funding. But, hell, even a little shot across the bow is worth trying.