Refayet Ullah Mirdha

The US is optimistic about deepening ties with Bangladesh as the country’s exports to American markets have maintained a robust growth while investors are looking to widen their footprint in the South Asian nation, US Ambassador Earl R Miller said.

Traffic movement through the capital’s Agargaon area will be a lot smoother than usual from next January as the government has decided to relocate the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar to Purbachal.

The government may ease the rules on the use of fabric imported duty-free to help local manufacturers shift to high-end apparels and boost export earnings as firms generate more waste while producing fancy items for international markets.

The amount of compensation legally payable to victims of industrial incidents in Bangladesh is far below than the provisions of the ILO Convention 121, said Tuomo Poutiainen, country director of the International Labour Organisation.

Bangladesh should continue to take forward the progress achieved in ensuring workplace safety following the two deadliest back-to-back industrial incidents to prevent a recurrence and save the lives of workers.

Despite facing numerous work order cancellations and subsequent suspension of most exports due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Denim Expert Ltd did not lay off any of its workers.

Just as Bangladesh’s main foreign currency-earning apparel sector had begun recouping from shocks to its exports, a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has started inflicting damages again.

That the novel coronavirus has brought down many businesses is nothing new. Tourism firms and hotels are some of the first victims to come to mind, considering all the non-stop ruckus with isolation.

Local apparel manufacturers have urged the bond authorities to increase the amount of waste permitted while producing garments from items imported duty free under bonded warehouse benefit.

Apex Footwear has launched its first international outlet, finding its niche in Kathmandu, the capital of the Himalayan Kingdom ofNepal.

Japan is directly communicating with Myanmar, emphasising the importance of Rohingya repatriation and accountability as it considers a long-term solution to the crisis and regional stability essential conditions for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh ITO Naoki believes Bangladesh should begin intense negotiations with his country so that the duo could sign a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.

A decision by the energy ministry to stop providing new gas connections to the industries outside economic zones and industrial parks from April next year has drawn the ire of industrialists.

Bangladesh has demanded before the United Nations export duty waivers on its products for 10 to 12 years past its graduation from a least developed country (LDC) to a developing one in 2024, said a top commerce ministry official yesterday.

Bangladesh has not shown any interest in joining the world’s largest trade deal, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) primarily to safeguard its revenue generation from duties on imports.

The garment sector fared well in the first quarter of the current fiscal year thanks to the reopening of western retail outlets after a pause for a few months since the Covid-19 outbreak.

Apex Tannery Limited (ATL) sank to losses in the first quarter of the fiscal year due to a drop in sales of leather goods amid the Covid-19.

Any major trade benefit on the export of goods bound for the US from Bangladesh with the changeover in power is unlikely as Washington rarely alters tariff structures on the import of apparel items.

The biennial election of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will be held by April next year, according to a panel leader.

Bangladesh’s merchandise exports declined 4.08 per cent year-on-year to $2.94 billion in October because of the faltering recovery of garment shipment from the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed yesterday.