Bangladesh faced a crippling 37 percent tariff on its exports to the US.
Bangladesh’s RMG sector has improved, but challenges in wages and rights remain.
Bangladesh faces a critical decision: recalibrate its economy towards inclusivity and sustainability.
Bangladesh is at a critical crossroads in its energy policy.
Garment exports by Bangladesh’s market rivals like India, Vietnam, China and Cambodia have increased to major Western markets due mainly to the latest spell of labour unrest and political changeover earlier in August in the country.
After more than a month of disruption due to the political changeover and subsequent labour unrest in major industrial belts, international apparel retailers and brands are returning to Bangladesh with work orders for upcoming seasons.
In light of the recent development in the RMG sector, where factories have started to open, Taslima Akhter, president of Bangladesh Garment Sramik Samhati (BGWS), talks about the workers’ protest and their demands and plights in an interview with Aliza Rahman of The Daily Star.
International market prices declined mainly because of a fall in demand from end consumers suffering from high inflationary pressure due to the severe fallouts of Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war.
Despite facing one of the highest tariff rates, Bangladesh is the third-largest apparel exporter to markets in the US because of its efforts to improve working conditions, end forced labour, stamp out counterfeits, and provide safe and high-quality products to American consumers, said the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) at a hearing recently.
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) is going to hold a hearing involving Bangladesh to see whether a recent rise in prices of garment items sourced from the country had anything to do with unhealthy competition.
Chinese textile and garment entrepreneurs are bullish about Bangladesh as the country cements its position as a top supplier of apparel items, evidenced from a healthy flow of orders from international clothing retailers and brands.
Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), discusses the challenges that Bangladesh has to overcome on its journey to becoming a middle-income country, in an exclusive interview with Naimul Alam Alvi of The Daily Star.
The manner in which RMG unrest is being handled defies logic
How acceptable is this minimum wage of Tk 12,500?
We are not geared for such runs in the same way that some manufacturers in Europe are.
Will we see an industry which has fewer and larger players?
International clothing retailers and brands are demanding up to 5 per cent discounts from Bangladesh’s apparel exporters, adding another challenge for the suppliers who are already grappling with multiple issues amid volatile global economic scenario.
Despite the increased participation of women in different sectors, there remains a lack of dynamism in their employment.
Readymade garment manufacturer A Plus Sweater Ltd had sent an RMG consignment to Chattogram Port from its Gazipur factory on eight covered vans on October 29 last year for shipment to Brazil.
