The country’s flagship textiles and readymade garments (RMG) industries are reeling from a crippling gas crisis, threatening an estimated $70 billion in investments amid mounting global trade uncertainty over new US tariffs.
Bangladesh will send the work plan to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) within the next week to reduce the trade gap as part of the efforts to bring down Trump’s reciprocal tariff, currently on pause until July 9.
In a first move to address the shortfall, Sylhet's Osmani International Airport is set to launch dedicated cargo operations today
The United States Trade Representative (USTR), the US government’s chief trade negotiation body, wants to see Bangladesh’s work plan on narrowing the bilateral trade gap before the Trump administration makes a call on reciprocal tariffs.
Local suppliers have secured adequate work orders from US clothing retailers and brands to stay busy until Christmas at the end of this year, although the shipments are likely to be subject to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
Safety standards in Bangladesh’s garment sector saw a marked improvement after the disastrous Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, but there is still a need for other sectors to improve in this regard, Labour Reform Commission chairman Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed said in an interview yesterday.
Bangladesh's limited trade diplomacy, coupled with its slower shift towards value-added production, could allow Vietnam to surpass it in global rankings
This includes allowing more duty-free imports from the US, offering warehouse facilities for American cotton and removing various non-tariff barriers.
The reform initiatives taken by the interim government should be continued as these reforms may pave the way towards a more modern, equal and inclusive Bangladesh, said a top official of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Trump Administration’s imposition of high tariffs on goods made in China may help to reduce the price of soybean seeds and edible oil in Bangladesh, traders and importers said..China’s retaliatory tariffs may also discourage Chinese importers from buying US goods, they added. .If
Chinese entrepreneurs are increasingly inquiring with Bangladeshi businesses over scope for factory relocations, joint ventures and fresh investments, apprehending that the new Trump administration might further hike tariffs on their exports to the US.
Following the political changeover on August 5, the country’s main export-earnings sector, the garments industry, witnessed a large-scale and drawn-out spell of labour unrest in industrial belts such as Savar, Gazipur, Ashulia, Zirabo and Zirani.
Delayed salary payment from a handful of RMG factory owners triggered the latest bout of labour unrest
Bangladesh has committed to amending its labour law by March next year to align it with international standards and meet the 18-point demand raised by workers in September this year.
A congenial business environment is yet to be restored under the interim government, said Tapan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Pharmaceuticals.
For local business communities, Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race has been shorthand for the expectation that Western apparel orders and some foreign investments would shift to Bangladesh, with global fashion powerhouse China possibly facing higher import tariffs from the US.
Bypassing the traditional air shipment routes through India or Bangladesh, garment exporters have found the Maldives to be a cheaper as well as faster route.
The demand outlook for locally made denim garments is gradually improving as Western economies rebound, local and foreign businessmen said yesterday.
