Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Japan is looking to increase imports of garment products from Bangladesh, with Japanese companies seeking local business partners to strengthen sourcing under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between the two countries.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will hold an emergency board meeting today to review the persistent decline in garment exports.

The government is planning to form a high-level committee to implement and monitor the action plans it has committed to the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (UN CDP), as part of efforts to ensure a smooth graduation from the least developed country (LDC) group.

Bangladesh should show clear progress in the reforms it has committed to the UN CDP to secure a short deferral of its LDC graduation, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), yesterday.

The US has proposed fresh tariffs on 60 countries, including Bangladesh, because they have failed to prove they do not import industrial raw materials from places where forced labour is used.

Bangladesh is expected to play a significant role in a new US initiative aimed at boosting American cotton exports, as the Trump administration links potential tariff benefits for Bangladeshi apparel exports to the use of US cotton and textile inputs.

The European Union is set to begin an internal assessment of Bangladesh’s proposal for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the bloc, nearly a year after the proposal was first placed.

More than 95 percent of factories across garment and textile associations paid April salaries ahead of Eid-ul-Azha as of yesterday evening, according to Industrial Police (IP) data.

The government should reduce import duties on solar equipment in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026-27 to encourage wider adoption of renewable energy and help exporters meet international compliance requirements, said Vidiya Amrit Khan, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Exports through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) have been severely disrupted as three of the four Explosive Detection System (EDS) scanners remain non-functional.

The offer was made as US officials are yet to clarify how the facilities will work in practice

The study on GVCs, growth, and inequality was released yesterday

USTR officials arrive for talks on reciprocal tariff deal implementation and ongoing investigations into overcapacity and forced labour issues

Shipments reach $4b with all top 20 export markets posting positive YoY growth

April earnings climbed from $3.01 billion a year earlier and were up 15.20 percent from $3.48 billion in March

Washington still urges Dhaka to strengthen intellectual property enforcement in Bangladesh as Vietnam, India and Pakistan appear in USTR report

Bangladesh cited gaps in readiness, incomplete core reforms, and economic fallout from the Iran war as reasons for seeking an extension of the transition period for graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category by three more years at the public hearing of the UNCDP on April 29.

Commerce minister attended the virtual hearing with UNCDP chair, held on April 29

Says UN report, citing steep US tariffs, falling export orders and regional supply chain disruption across Asia-Pacific economies

Citing three major economic challenges, the government has prepared its position paper ahead of a United Nations hearing on Bangladesh’s request to defer its graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category.