Senior Staff Reporter of The Daily Star.
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.
Trump's announcement sent businesses scrambling. Orders froze. Buyers demanded discounts. Stock markets plummeted.
The government will shortly write to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), urging it to reduce what it describes as an irrational imposition of 37 percent reciprocal tariffs on Bangladeshi exports, a top official said yesterday.
Bangladesh’s reliance on Indian imports has been increasing as local manufacturers and industries are struggling to reduce the time needed to bring in goods from other destinations as they battle to meet shrinking lead times.
Nearly 75 percent of the 9,596 garment and non-garment factories across Bangladesh were yet to pay workers their March wages till yesterday, according to Industrial Police, as Eid holidays are just around the corner.
China has been the single largest trading partner for Bangladesh for many years, but imports from the country have far outweighed exports
An uncertain future is overshadowing the joy of the upcoming Eid for thousands of workers who have lost their jobs due to factory closures and layoffs in the wake of last year’s political shift.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) yesterday urged the government to release Tk 500 crore in due export incentives to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) pay workers’ bonuses and other dues ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.
In recent months, Bangladesh’s garment shipments to major markets such as the European Union (EU) and the US have rebounded strongly, but the price per unit has declined.
Professor Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government, yesterday instructed his cabinet colleagues to prepare for Bangladesh’s status graduation from a least developed country (LDC) to a developing nation in November 2026, effectively doing away with all speculation.
In a war-ravaged country following the independence of Bangladesh, very few braved the risk of leaving a well-paid job to become a businessman.
Syed Manzur Elahi was one of Bangladesh’s most distinguished industrialists and entrepreneurs.