US Trade Representative Michael Froman said a new agreement with Bangladesh will give the two countries a formal mechanism to address the serious labour, safety and worker rights issues that led to the Southeast Asian nation’s loss of US trade preferences earlier this year.
The countries signed the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) at a ceremony in Washington Monday.
In June, the US said it was suspending Bangladesh’s trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences as of September. The US cited pervasive garment factory safety problems, including two tragedies that claimed the lives of more than 1,230 workers, in addition to the failure of industry and government to allow Bangladeshi workers...
Reform measures aimed at improving conditions in the troubled Bangladesh garment industry face new obstacles as political upheaval takes hold in advance of national elections.
The announcement on Monday that the 10
th parliamentary election would take place on Jan. 5 set off a series of disturbances on Tuesday, including a 71-hour strike and shutdown of road, rail and sea transportation, and the expectation of more delays in shipments and other disruptions for businesses.
Diss...
The UK’s favourite cuisine was once again celebrated at the ninth, annual British Curry Awards on Monday at Battersea Evolution, as the nation’s finest curry restaurants were honoured at undisputedly the most lauded event of the UK hospitality sector.
This year's ceremony once again welcomed a who’s who guest list of 100 leading restaurateurs, celebrities, politicians, dignitaries, business leaders and influencers, says a press release.
Among them were Prime Minister David Cameron; politicians Chris Grayling MP, Keith Vaz MP, Anne Main MP, Al...
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has called the members of World Trade Organization (WTO) to spare no effort to achieve a trade facilitation deal in time for the Bali Conference next week.
ICC, following the WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo’s signal on Tuesday that the formal WTO negotiating process had reached a conclusion for the time being, asked the member countries to demonstrate the political will needed to settle the agreement, said a press release here on Thursday .
“This is a clarion call for global business to continue ur...
Twenty two Assistant General Managers of Pubali Bank Ltd were promoted to Deputy General Manager (DGM) as recognition for their outstanding performance in the profession.
Managing Director and CEO of Pubali Bank Ltd Helal Ahmed Chowdhury handed over the promotion letter to the newly promoted DGMs as chief guest in a ceremony held in the city recently.
Helal Ahmed Chowdhury urged everyone to work sincerely and honestly. He added that one could become successful banker by exploring skills and talents at the highest level through ...
Robi Axiata Ltd., one of the leading mobile phone operators in the country, has reported a slowdown in revenue growth at 1 per cent between Q2 and Q3 for 2013. This was revealed at a press briefing, organized at Robi Corporate Office in the city on Thursday.
Robi Chief Financial Officer, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, who presented the results, attributed the growth slowdown to “lower average call rates due to heightened price competition in the market.” EBITDA (Earnings Before Income Tax Depreciation and Amortization) margins, however, improved to 40.2 per cent in part due to lower subscriber acquisition cost and improved efficiency in OPEX. “Reduction of SIM Tax only improved profitability marginally,” the CFO added.
