After India, Bangladesh is now planning to form an alliance with China to tap the marine resources in the Bay of Bengal. “We received a Chinese proposal on Wednesday to forge an alliance on blue economy,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said, seeking anonymity. Bangladesh and India signed a memorandum of understanding on blue economy and maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean on June 6 in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. “We are now scrutinising the proposal and hope to come to a conclusion as soon as possible,” the official said. Bangladesh also wants to form a bloc comprising regional littoral states to cooperate in the field of blue economy. These states are Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia and Malaysia. The MoU is mainly on skill development, capacity building, pollution response, tsunami and cyclone warning and fishing among other things. “We incorporated the harmless issues and dropped the thorny or sensitive issue such as security,” said another Foreign Ministry official. Bangladesh does not have much knowledge about marine bio-technology unlike India who has advanced knowledge in this field, and Dhaka can benefit from sharing, he said. Medicines such as cod liver oil, cosmetics and toiletries can be produced with marine resources but Bangladesh lacks investment in the sector. Fishing is another area where both Bangladesh and India can cooperate as the former lacks deep sea fishing capacities, the official said. “Bangladesh has sovereign right to fish in up to 200 nautical miles but the vessels can go up to only 40 nautical miles,” he said. The deep sea has massive untapped fishing resources but Bangladesh has been unable to tap it, he said. The joint statement issued during Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka said that the two prime ministers had expressed satisfaction at the amicable settlement of the maritime boundary issue. “To harness the vast economic opportunities this has opened up, they agreed to work closely on the development of ocean-based Blue Economy and maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and chart out the ways for future cooperation,” the statement said. About the deal with China on marine cooperation, the official said it would be like what Bangladesh has with India. “We will cooperation in the harmless areas like what we have with India while security and other thorny issues will not be included in the deal with China,” he added. Bangladesh settled maritime boundary disputes with India in 2014 and with Myanmar in 2012. Bangladesh now has sovereign authority over a 118,000 sq-km area in the Bay.

Country’s exports to most of the non-traditional markets witnessed a healthy growth in the July-May period of the current financial year 2014-15 but Turkey and South Korea remained blemishes during the period. Exporters said earnings from the Turkey market dropped due to imposition of safeguard duties on the readymade garment imports and devaluation of the euro and the Turkish currency lira while earnings from South Korea decreased due to a fall in export of leather and leather products. On the other hand, export earnings from Australia, China, India and Japan witnessed significant increases. Export earnings from the Turkey market dropped by 17.53 per cent to $653.73 million in 11 months of the current fiscal year from $792.77 million in the same period of the FY 2013-14. Export earnings from Australia in the July-May period of the FY15 increased by 25.39 per cent to $547.38 million from $436.69 million in the same period of the FY14, data showed. ‘It’s a good sign for the country’s RMG sector that the earnings from the non-traditional markets have been increasing gradually,’ a former vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Mohammad Hatem, told New Age. He said the export to Australia increased in the recent months as the country shifted its procurement from China to Bangladesh. ‘Export earnings from Australia witnessed a significant growth in 11 months of the FY15 riding mainly on the earnings from knitwear products. Not only Australia but also New Zealand raised its procurement from Bangladesh as China shifted their production to high-end products from basic items,’ Hatem said. RMG export to Australia in 11 months of the FY15 increased by 22.80 per cent to $481.58 million from $392.17 million in the same period of the FY14, the EPB data showed. Hatem also said the earnings from Turkey dropped due mainly to the imposition of safeguard duty on importing RMG from Bangladesh as well as a depreciation of the euro. The payments between Bangladesh and Turkey are settled in the euro, Hatem added. According to the EPB data, the export of RMG to Turkey in 11 months of the financial year 2014-15 decreased by 23.88 per cent to $438.69 million against $576.34 million in the same period of the FY 2013-14. Export to China increased by 6.40 per cent to $720.01 million in the July-May period of the FY15 against $676.68 million in the same period of the FY14. RMG export to China increased by 26.42 per cent to $265.71 million. Export to India in the July-may period of the FY15 increased by 18.97 per cent to $472.12 million from $396.82 million in the same period of the FY14. RMG export to India increased by 11.80 per cent to $94.45 million in the period. Export earnings from Japan in 11 months in the FY15 grew by 6.20 per cent to $838.34 million from $789.38 million in the same period of the FY14. RMG export to Japan grew by 14.58 per cent to $594.81 million in the period, the EPB data showed. Exporters hoped that the export to Japan would increase more and the market might be the next one-billion-dollar market for Bangladesh as the country (Japan) relaxed rules of origins on knit articles from two stages to one stage. The EPB data showed that export to South Korea in 11 months of the FY15 decreased by 23.78 per cent to $244.12 million from $320.28 million in the same period of previous financial year. Leather export to South Korea in the 11 months dropped by 49.31 per cent to $51.86 million from $102.31 million in the same period of the FY14.

The finance minister, while proposing FY 2015-16 budget before the parliament, proposed to raise  tax at source on export proceeds of readymade garments (RMG) to one per cent from existing 0.30 per cent. He described this as the final tax liability for the sector. One day later, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) demanded withdrawal of increased tax at source from export prices of RMG to achieve middle- income status in 2021. The hike in tax at source will cause loss of competitiveness of the country’s readymade garment sector. At the same time, RMG exporters feel the GSP plus status for Pakistan and Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement among Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, the US, Canada, Japan and Australia have created more challenges for Bangladesh’s RMG exporters. The proposed tax hike at source on exports is completely illogical and it would affect the future of readymade garment sector, according to the  president of the BGMEA at a press conference on the proposed budget. The proposed budget is business-friendly but not textile-friendly, said Atiqul Islam on behalf of the trade bodies. He also said that the textile and garment sector would be the worst victim of the proposed budget and the proposal for raising tax at source would hinder the normal growth of the sector. According to the president of the BGMEA, the cost of production increased by 10 per cent in 2015 from 2013 as expenditure on account of workers’ wages rose by 15 per cent during the period. Under the circumstances, the proposed tax rise at source would damage the competitiveness of the sector. At the same time, the deprecation of Euro, Canadian dollar and Russian rouble against US dollar has created another challenge for the sector. Moreover, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has found that the apparel sector suffered the highest loss of Tk 13.18 billion in first three months of this year. On the other hand, the commerce minister formally announced the target for yearly RMG turnover. He has already set the initial target $33.56 billion for FY2015-2016 with a growth of 7.49 per cent on the basis of data from the Export Promotion Bureau and considering global and local economic situations. It is to be noted that in the outgoing FY2014-2015, the target was $33.2 billion. The largest export earner of the country already has failed to reach the target. As per the latest EPB data, during July-April of the FY2014-15, Bangladesh earned $25.30 billion from exports while the country’s income source tax was .03 per cent. As per the EPB data, the woven sector earned $10.55 billion with still 4.53 per cent short of the target and the knitwear fetched over $10 billion which was also 6.3 per cent less than the target. At this time, the RMG sector is facing a lot of challenges including image crisis caused by the political turmoil that occurred in first three months of the current year. It is true that textiles and garments industry were enjoying various incentives but the sector also gave a lot to the economy. Meanwhile, BKMEA president AKM Salim Osman said the proposed tax hike at source on exports will be dangerous for the sector. “We have to keep in mind that the whole nation as well as the government is dependent on textile and garment sector.” He added that there is no country in the world where buyers and brand groups (Alliance and Accord) are working to make the factories compliant. In the meantime, the CPD also suggested that the government should provide incentives to the affected sectors in the budget. Presently, garment exports to the US market are struggling, while shipment to the EU market is facing greater competition. The country’s entrepreneurs and 4.6 million workers are grateful to the government for giving various incentives from 1980 but it is true that Bangladesh is known to the world because of its textile and garment sectors. Amid competition the hike in tax at source will hamper the growth of the RMG sector. Such a decision will put the country’s major foreign currency earning sectors in great trouble. If the government gives policy support to RMG, the sector will make it possible to give the nation US$ 50 billion export along with generating additional 6.5 million jobs in 2021.

Bangladesh has proposed export of its jute bags, textiles, pharmaceuticals and ceramics to Cambodia. The proposal was made by the newly-appointed Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand with concurrent accreditation to Cambodia, Saida Muna Tasneem, when she called on Commerce Minister of Cambodia Sun Chanthol on Wednesday.    It was agreed that the Commerce Ministers of the two countries would meet at a mutually convenient time for the first Joint Trade Committee. Earlier in the day Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand with concurrent accreditation to Cambodia presented her credentials to His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. At an official ceremony Ambassador Tasneem presented her Letter of Credence accredited by the President of Bangladesh to the King of Cambodia. Senior Minister for the King’s Palace, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia and Chief of Protocol and high officials were present at the credential ceremony. The Ambassador conveyed to King Sihamoni, son of late King Norodom Sihanouk, greetings and good wishes of President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Africa’s textile and apparel exports to the United States could quadruple to $4 billion over the next decade through an extended duty-free trade treaty, a US official said on Wednesday.The trade program known as the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), currently before American lawmakers, provides eligible sub-Saharan countries duty-free access to the world’s top apparel market, giving Africa a competitive edge over suppliers such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.The US administration has already called for Congress to renew the program well ahead of its expiry date of Sept. 30, 2015. The program, in which about 40 African countries are eligible to take part, could be extended another 10 years.”Ten years is a game-changer,” said Gail Strickler, assistant United States trade representative for textiles and apparel, adding the extension could be passed “imminently”.”Africa should be able to quadruple its exports, literally without a lot of trouble, creating another 500,000 new jobs.”Established in 2000, AGOA has already been renewed past its original 2008 expiry date.Last year, US clothing imports from sub-Saharan countries reached $986 million, up nearly six percent from 2013, as countries such as Lesotho, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania participated in the program.Analysts said Africa had lower labour costs and abundant raw materials, such as top-quality cotton from Uganda, but congested ports, a poor road network, lack of skills and old technology were a hindrance.While the costs may be rising in Asia, they are still way more competitive than Africa, especially on productivity, quality and product range,” said Joseph Nyagari, an official at the Nairobi-based African Cotton and Textile Industries Federation.African officials and Asian firms with factories in Africa welcomed AGOA’s extension, saying investment would follow.Kelebone Leisanyane, chief executive of the Lesotho National Development Corporation, said the land-locked southern African nation, a top exporter under AGOA, plans two new fabric mills.”I think for Lesotho AGOA is critical and its renewal means the survival of many families, with around 35,000 workers in the apparel and textile industry,” he told Reuters.Taiwanese firm New Wide Garment, which has six factories in Kenya and one each in Lesotho and Ethiopia, also aims to expand.”Now with a ten-year extension it means most of the investors will jump into Africa. We intend expanding more in Africa,” Heman Boodia, its Africa vice president told Reuters.

India will provide 50 acres of land in Gujarat to Bangladeshi businessmen to build a warehouse from which apparel items can be shipped directly to retail shops across India.

The development comes after a team of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association led by its President Atiqul Islam placed the demand to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Dhaka.

Modi discussed the matter with his policymakers upon returning to New Delhi and decided to provide the land.

The move will help garment makers meet their target of exporting $1 billion worth of products to India in the next three years.

The deputy Indian high commissioner in Dhaka has now sought a proposal from the BGMEA.

Islam said the proposal will be submitted to the Indian high commissioner on Sunday.

Bangladesh is one of the ‘worst’ places in the world to work, where workers’ rights are not guaranteed, according to a global survey.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), in a survey launched on Wednesday, ranks Bangladesh, along with 27 other countries, on the fifth category–a sign of “no guarantee of rights”.

It, however, referred to the readymade garment sector, where physical force, sexual intimidation and threats of physical assault and dismissal are often used to stop workers from organising.

China, India, Malaysia, Belarus, Cambodia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar are other countries ranked on the same category of worst countries for workers in the world.

“While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have collectively no access to these rights and are therefore exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices,” the report reads about the countries that ranked at five.

The 2015 ITUC’s Global Rights Index, which ranked 141 countries on 1-5 categories against 97 internationally-recognised indicators, showed how well they were protecting employment rights such as freedom of association, collective bargaining and the rights to strike, was published for the second time.

The ITUC had been collecting data on abuse of trade union rights around the world for the past 30 years. Now for the second time the ITUC Global Rights Index presents verified information from the last 12 months so that every government and business can see how their laws and supply chains have deteriorated or improved.

The key findings of the ITUC are: Out of a total of 141 countries, the number where workers faced arbitrary arrest and detention increased from 35 to 44, and included countries such as Spain and Brazil.

In almost 60 per cent of countries, certain types of workers are excluded from their fundamental labour rights and unionists were murdered in 11 countries, one up from last year, including 22 deaths in Colombia alone, it revealed.

Seventy per cent of countries have workers with no right to strike while two thirds of countries deny workers collective bargaining rights.

The 2015 ITUC Global Index found more than half of countries in the survey deny workers access to the rule of law.

Nine countries including Syria, Central African Republic and Palestine scored even worse at 5+. This rating linked to dysfunctional legislations as a result of internal conflict and/or military occupation. Workers in those countries have equally limited rights as workers with the rating five.

Systematic violations of rights have been reported in 27 countries including Poland and the USA and the ITUC ranked them 4th.

Regular violations of rights have been found in 36 countries including Israel and Australia and they ranked 3rd.

The number of second ranking countries is 26 including Japan and Ireland where rights are violated repeatedly, according to the index.

There are 16 countries including Finland and Uruguay ranked top. Irregular violations of rights are found there. Collective labour rights are generally guaranteed, workers can freely associate and defend their rights collectively. Violations against workers are not absent but not occur on a regular basis.

“Workers in the Gulf States where the draconian ‘kafala’ system is widespread endure many of the violations which make the Middle East and North Africa the world’s worst region for fundamental rights at work,” said ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow is a statement.

The ten worst countries for working people are Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and United Arab Emirates, according to the Index, the statement added.

Differing with Bangladesh’s ranking, Abdus Salam Murshedy former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said the initiative in cooperation with International Labour Organisation (ILO), Accord and Alliance ongoing in the country’s RMG sector to improve the workplace and safety issues.

“During the last one year, more than 200 trade unions got registered in the garment sector while 128 registered during the last thirty years,” he said.

“How justified is it to evaluate a large sector like RMG only by five to six incidents?” he questioned.

The export of woven garments to the US registered a negative growth in the first 10 months of the current financial year though the export earnings from the market started to rebound from the beginning of this calendar year. Exporters and analysts said there were various reasons for the negative growth that included decreasing demand for the items on compliance issue, reluctance of exporters for high duty in the market and grabbing market share by the competing countries. The export of woven garments to the US market in the July-April period of the FY 2014-15 decreased by 1.62 per cent to $3.18 billion from $3.23 billion in the same period of the FY 2013-14, according to Export Promotion Bureau data. The export of knitwear to the market, however, grew by 5.85 per cent to $1.03 billion in the period. Following the Rana Plaza building collapse a number of US buyers shifted orders from Bangladesh and good number of buyers decreased their volume of orders due to safety concern, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Shahidullah Azim told New Age. ‘At the same time, some of our competing countries like Vietnam and India gained their capacities in the market and Bangladesh lost its space,’ he said. On the other hand, a number of exporters were looking for the alternative markets in the period and expressed their unwillingness to export to the US market due to higher duty, Azim said. A recent report launched by the Centre for Policy Dialogue stated that in the first 10 months of the FY15, the growth of export earnings was only 2.6 per cent and such performance was realised amid a number of challenges the export sector faced that included a violent and uncertain political environment, uneven developments in major export destination, falling global commodity prices and the volatile exchange rate of the euro. The report said that the export of woven garments was shifting from the US market to the EU market in recent years. During the first 10 months of the FY15, the export of woven products to the United States declined by 1.6 per cent, while a relatively strong growth rate of 7 per cent was attained in the EU market, the report said. The CPD, a local think-tank, said that this was perhaps a sign that the woven exporters in Bangladesh were gradually diverting products from the US market to the EU market due to the relaxation of the rules of origin requirement in the generalised system of preferences. Since the relaxation of the rules of origin the export of woven products has been on the rise to the European Union market. The report mentioned that the US imposed high customs duty on imports of woven products and the US government charged customs duty of $392 million on imports of woven products from Bangladesh in 2014. Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh had been facing many type of challenges including compliance, deprecation of the euro, appreciation of the local currency and rising cost for doing business. These things have put pressure on the efficiency of the country’s readymade garment sector and competitor countries have grabbed the market share, he said. Salam said, ‘The key problem for the garment sector is that our competitive edge is doing down.’ According to the CPD statistic, to some extent Vietnam, India, Honduras and El Salvador registered higher growth in exporting woven products to the US in the first 10 months of the FY15. Bangladesh’s export earnings from mens/boys shirts in the July-April period of the FY15 registered 6 per cent growth while Vietnam registered 13 per cent growth. In exporting boys’ trousers and shorts of synthetic fibres, Bangladesh posted 9.40 per cent negative growth while Vietnam registered 5.4 per cent, Honduras 18.80 per cent and El Salvador 33.30 per cent growth.

Bangladeshi RMG producers are now facing stiff competition to penetrate into the market of the United States in the wake of the production cost hike and losing competiveness. Yet, export of Bangladeshi RMG products to the US market has grown by 7% in April 2015, to US$1.8bn, a good rise from 2.3% decline in 2014, according to data recently released by OTEXA. Besides, overall export to the US market also seen a 7.24% gain to $1.9bn. RMG manufacturers attributed production, political unrest and safety inspection launched by the global retailers’ platforms the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. Myanmar, the emerging exporter of the RMG products to US market has posted a 123% growth to more than $8m in the first four months of this year. RMG export to the US market from Vietnam also increased by 16.5% to $799m while India’s export growth grew by 9.82% to $1.4bn. Meanwhile, China, the global leader of apparel manufacturing, lost its share in the US market, which was captured by Vietnam, Bangladesh and India in recent times. China’s export to the US market rose by over 1%, which is a positive sign for Bangladesh as it was expected that this share would be shifted to Bangladesh from Chaina. “As the fate of Bangladesh RMG industry is hanging in the balance, our competitors are taking the advantage of it,” BGMEA President MdAtiqulIslam told the Dhaka Tribune. Islam noted that productivity of Bangladeshi workers was lower than that of the competitors and devaluation of euros against dollars and political unrest also worked as catalysts to lower the growth. “On the other hand, compliance has increased production cost, which lead us to lose competitiveness in the global market,” said Islam. For gaining competitiveness and to overcome the existing hurdles, the BGMEA chief urged the government to provide policy support including lowering tax at source. “Apart from political unrest, compliance issue including installation of fire safety equipment and carry out the remediation cast shadow on the production cost leading challenging in competitiveness and the most challenge for the sector is to lose competitiveness,’’Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Exporters Association (EAB), told the Dhaka Tribune. Though production cost has risen but the product price has not increased, which also makes the sector less competitive and lose market share, he said. “We are introducing production engineering and automation to reduce production cost and enhance productivity to tackle the situation.” He also urged the government to provide policy support to reduce production cost.

The Rana Plaza Coordination Committee will complete all payments to the victims of the nation’s worst industrial disaster in two weeks, as the panel has received the required amount — $30 million — from retailers.We are ready to finish paying the compensation money to the Rana Plaza victims as we have received the required $30 million,” Srinivas B Reddy, country director for International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Bangladesh, said in an interview with The Daily Star yesterday.“We have already disbursed 70 percent of the claims to the victims through bank accounts of Dutch Bangla Bank.”Reddy is the chairman of the committee, which was formed two years ago after the accident to settle the compensation claims, with government representatives, garment exporters, retailers and trade union leaders.The committee has already disbursed $16.4 million of the fund among 2,889 claimants, except 668 victims who were directly awarded compensation by British retailer Primark, he said.Primark made 95 percent of the payment to the victims and families of New Wave Bottom, a garment factory that was housed on the second floor of Rana Plaza and made garment items for the British retailer.Primark is contributing $14 million to the $30 million fund, which includes $11 million in long-term payments, $2 million in short-term aid and a donation of $1 million to help other victims, according to its website.More than $2.48 million came from the prime minister’s welfare fund, said Reddy.The committee has followed ILO Convention 121, which deals with payment for industrial accidents, in determining the amount of payment to the victims, Reddy added.It took more than two years to disburse the fund as the committee had to sort out the new addresses and other details of a large number of workers, said Reddy. “The ILO is now relieved as the fund has been managed.”In determining compensation to the workers, the average salary of the victims has been fixed at Tk 5,300, the minimum wage for the garment workers, he added.“In some cases, the amount of compensation varied as some victims came up with their last pay slips; those who used to get higher salaries received higher amounts.”The ILO has been conducting a feasibility study to launch the National Employment Injury Insurance Programme to bring all factory workers under insurance coverage, he said.The insurance, which will be mandatory for all factories, will cover health, unfortunate death and other workplace accidents; and factory owners will need to pay less than Tk 60 as premium for each worker every month, he added.