Bangladesh

A boiler operator at a garment factory in Gazipur has died nearly two weeks after sustaining severe injuries from a boiler explosion. The explosion occurred mid-day on November 4 and injured 4 other workers who were also present in the room. (Bangladesh Accord)

Ongoing concerns about safety and compliance issues are taking a toll on Bangladesh’s exports to the United States, according to data from the U.S. Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA). Garment exports to the United States have slipped for the seventh consecutive month, even as purchases from other competing countries like Vietnam and Cambodia continue to grow. Analysts say that delays in receiving inspection reports from the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh are driving many buyers away. (Dhaka Tribune)

Bangladesh’s Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed says that the signing of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) with the United States will be meaningless unless exports from Bangladesh are granted duty-free access to the U.S. market. The two countries signed the agreement last year in hopes of resolving trade disputes between the two countries via a series of dialogues, the first of which was held in April. Ahmed says that the suspension of GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) by the United States has contributed to a downfall in Bangladeshi exports. (The Daily Star)