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US threatens sanctions

    JOHANNESBURG

    The United States has threatened to drop Swaziland from its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) unless King Mswati III signs an Industrial Relations bill into law ahead of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference next month.

    According to media reports, Swaziland’s parliament has already approved the bill, but the king refuses to sign it until his royal advisory council has amended it. The Swazi National Council (SNC) reportedly wants to include clauses making workers liable for losses suffered as a result of industrial action, even if these are legal.

    If Swaziland is excluded from the GSP it could lose its licence to export products including sugar, textiles and timber to the US at reduced tariffs. The country currently exports about 20,000 mt of sugar to the US per year.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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