National Tariff Commission of Pakistan has initiated proceedings to impose anti-dumping duty on import of hydrogen peroxide from Bangladesh, commerce ministry officials said. They said that the NTC had already issued a notice of initiation on April 28 and invited the interested parties to attend hearing on the issue. ‘Bangladesh Tariff Commission on behalf of the government and exporters will become parties in the hearing and fight against the allegation of dumping the product as the allegation is not true,’ a senior official of the commerce ministry told New Age on Monday. BTC and the exporters have already informed it to the NTC, he said. Dumping occurs when a company exports a product to any country at prices lower than the normal value (the domestic price or the cost of production) of the product on its domestic market. According to the World Trade Organisation, the importing country can impose anti-dumping duty on import of the product if it finds proof upon investigation that dumping has occurred, such dumping has caused or is causing material injury to the domestic industry and there is a causal link between the dumping and the injury found. Anti-dumping duty cannot be imposed if the conditions are not met. Exporters and trade officials said that hydrogen peroxide is used in bleaching and sterilising process in textile and paper and pulp industry. It is also generally used in bleaching, oxidizing, detoxifying and deodorising purposes. Bangladesh in July-April of the current fiscal year 2014-2015 exported the product worth around $6.5 million in different countries including Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Pakistan is the second largest importer of the product from Bangladesh taking item worth more than $1.2 million. In July-April, India imported the product worth around $4.5 million from Bangladesh. Samuda Chamical Complex Ltd, ASM Chemical Industries and Tasnim Chemical Industries are the major exporters of the product from the country. ASM Chemical Industries managing director Rajibul Huq Chowdhury told New Age that they were jointly handling the issue and had already notified the NTC to become interested parties in the hearing. The NTC initiated the investigation following an allegation by a local manufacturer that the item was being exported to Pakistan at dumped prices from Bangladesh. Commerce ministry officials said that All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association, however, requested the NTC not to impose any such duty without hearing its arguments for the betterment of industry and business of Pakistan. According to the proceedings of imposition of anti-dumping duty, the NTC will seek information, comments and documents from the interested parties including manufacturers, importers and exporters. And then, it will arrange hearing on the issue before taking decision on imposing anti-dumping duty on the product. The NTC will complete the investigation within 180 days from the date of initiation of the investigation.

Source: https://newagebd.net/120497/pak-plans-anti-dumping-duty-on-bdesh-textile-chemical/#sthash.qKWcpuDv.dpbs

Only one per cent out of the garment factories surveyed by the DIFE has trade unions (TUs) while 55 per cent of them even don’t have any participation committees, officials said. Nearly two years have already elapsed since the labour law has been amended with simplifying the procedures for forming trade unions at garment factories. The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) inspectors visited some 643 factories during the period between January and March in 2015. Of the factories surveyed, 356 are the members of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and 129 are the members of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) while 158 others don’t have any affiliation with either of the two trade bodies. According to the report, only three factories (1 per cent) associated with BGMEA and two factories (nearly 2 per cent) affiliated with BKMEA have TUs. But non-member factories surveyed by DIFE have no TUs. However, 53 per cent of BGMEA factories and 43 per cent of BKMEA factories have participation committees while it is only 30 per cent for non-member factories, according to the data. Participation committees are comprised of representatives from both the factory owners and workers that, according to labour leaders, actually work in favour of the owners. In 2013, the government amended the Bangladesh Labour Law-2006, simplifying the trade union formation for garment workers to bargain for their rights amid pressure from local and international arenas, especially after the Rana Plaza building collapse. Since then, more than 300 new trade unions have got government registration in last two years, raising the total number to 427, according to the labour ministry. According to DIFE, some 3,740 garment factories are now operating across the country. But still there is allegation that workers are being harassed, threatened, beaten and terminated by the factory management when they try to form trade unions. Labour leaders admitted that although the situation has changed a little bit compared to that of two years back, there are still impediments to forming unions. Non-cooperation from owners, fear to lose jobs and some legal complexities including requirement for 30 per cent workers to form unions are major reasons for less number of unions in the country’s ready-made garment sector that employs some 4.0 million workers. “Workers cannot freely organise on the factory premises during lunch break or after work to have their representation while the authority’s power to terminate workers mainly discourage union formation,” Amirul Haque Amin, president of National Garment Workers Federation, claimed. Moreover, requirement for 30 per cent workers to form unions is also a barrier, he said, adding that if workers fail to organise freely how they meet that requirement. “And if the factory management come to know that workers are trying to form union, they use their termination power as tool against union formation,” he alleged, adding that DoL (department of labour) also misuses its power and rejects many cases, although they meet all the requirements. He demanded that the government should look into these issues. Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary general of Industrial Bangladesh Council, blamed factory owners’ negative attitude towards union and weakness of union organisers struggling, committed and aggressive attitude for thin presence of trade unions in garment factories. The government has allowed trade unions and participation committees in the garment factories due to pressure especially from international community, not from workers, labour leaders alleged. Md Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA, has brushed aside the allegation of creating barriers to forming unions by the factory management and termed the registration of more than 300 new unions after the amendment to the law ‘dramatic change’. He said, “We always welcome legal and constructive trade union to create a better industrial atmosphere for better productivity.” “Our concern is that there is a lack of education, awareness of the principles of trade union, and motivation among our workers. Their age and cultural backwardness make it vulnerable to misuse the power of union,” he said, adding that there is always fear of external influence and politicisation of the trade unions that can only lead to disruption. To ensure a safe and proper functioning of trade union and improved workers’ rights situation in Bangladesh, he called for educating the workers to increase awareness and train and motivate them on their rights and responsibilities.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/17/92962

The government plans to increase tax at source on export proceeds from the apparel sector in the coming fiscal year.The sector receives a lot of benefits from the government, and now it is time for the exporters to give back — at least something, according to Finance Minister AMA Muhith.The tax at source on export receipts had been reduced to 0.3 percent for this fiscal year from 0.8 percent in the previous one.“If the rate is increased, we can collect a large amount of revenue from the sector,” Muhith said on Friday.The minister spoke at a discussion on “budget 2015-16: some selected analysis” organised by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies or BIDS at its office in Dhaka.Mahbub Ahmed, senior secretary of the Finance Division, said the government will review the subsidy allocations for different sectors, including garment.“We are going to rationalise subsidy allocation and, possibly, there will be changes in the distribution and measures to avoid its abuse,” he said.Presenting a paper on “fiscal incentives for export industries: lessons for the coming budget” at the discussion, Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow of BIDS, said: “The government should review the issue of cash incentives as our resources are limited.”She said the garment sector enjoys half of the total cash incentives, but now the thrust sectors should get these facilities.BIDS Senior Research Fellow Monzur Hossain presented another keynote paper on “inflationary impact on households: implications for the budget” and said day labourers and people with low income are the hardest hit by inflation.He proposed increasing the elderly and widow allowance from existing Tk 300 to Tk 1,000.Presenting another keynote paper on “financing for the fiscal year 2016: a comprehensive approach”, Abul Basher, researcher of BIDS, said the size of the budget should be increased further.The size of the budget has been increased by 18 percent in the last five years, but real growth will be just around 10 percent if inflation is taken into account, he said.BIDS Senior Research Fellow Mohammed Yunus also presented a paper on revenue mobilisation and grants to municipalities at the discussion presided over by BIDS Director General KAS Murshid.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/apparel-exports-face-more-tax-82702

Safety in the garment sector has improved over the last two years as factory owners started implementing the corrective actions plans recommended by the engineers of two foreign inspection agencies — Accord and Alliance.Factories in Bangladesh producing garments for Accord signatory companies have become safer,” said Rob Wayss, Accord’s executive director for Bangladesh operations.“Safety hazards identified through our inspections are being remediated and will ultimately be completed. There is a lot of work remaining to do to complete the remediation work but progress has been made and this has made factories safer.”After the Rana Plaza building collapse, nearly 200 retailers and brands, mainly European, formed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh on May 13, 2013 to ensure workplace safety and improve worker rights in the garment sector.The engineers of Accord, a legally binding five-year agreement, formally started factory inspections on February 20 last year and completed preliminary inspections in September.Through two batches of initial inspections — one in Feb-Sept of 2014 and the other in Jan-April of 2015 — Accord has inspected 1,286 factories for fire, electrical, and structural issues, Wayss said in an email interview as they completed two years in Bangladesh. The number does not include the approximately 250 factories producing for both Accord and Alliance brands which the Alliance inspected, he said. “For these factories we are not doing initial inspections but are developing CAPs (corrective action plans) and monitoring and verifying remediation based on the findings from the Alliance conducted inspection.”On providing funds to factory owners for remediation, Wayss said, in order to induce factories to comply with upgrade and remediation requirements of the Accord programme, participating brands and retailers will negotiate commercial terms with their suppliers.He said each signatory company may, at its option, use alternative means to ensure factories have the financial capacity to comply with remediation requirements.Bilateral discussions take place between factory owners and Accord brands to finalise a financial plan for the remediation, he said.In most cases, factory owners are confirming they will fund the remediation costs. In some cases, factory owners are requesting commercial terms and support from Accord brands.”Accord brands have negotiated such support in some cases. These include: commitment to order volumes and long term sourcing; prepayment or accelerated payment of orders, or direct financial support. Accord is also working to establish low-interest remediation loans through various international financial institutions.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/garment-factories-now-safer-after-inspections-82690

Bangladesh is apprehended to miss the export target for the current fiscal year as it has to earn $7.9bn more in the final two months of FY2014-15. Trade analysts and exporters have feared that it would be quite impossible to fulfill the gap as the last 10-month trend suggests. The dismal export performance is attributed to the country’s political unrest, devaluation of Euro against US dollar, weak demands of global consumers and compliance issues – all putting bar to placing high volume work orders, they said. As per the latest data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), during July-April of FY2014-15, Bangladesh fetched $25.30bn in export earning against $33.2bn target, registering a rise of 2.63% compared to the same period a year earlier. The export earning needs to be upped by 23.8% to reach the target. RMG sector, the lifeline of export earnings, failed to reach the target. In July-April Bangladesh earned $20.56bn by exporting clothes against its target of $26.89bn for the current fiscal year. As per the EPB data, the woven sector earned $10.55bn, which is 4.53% less than required to reach target while knitwear earned over $10bn, 6.3% less than required target amount. Among other major sectors, frozen food missed export target by 16.76% followed by tea 22.68%, leather and leather products 19%, shrimp 14.25%, raw jute 13.17% and computer services by 6.6%. “A $33.2bn export target was very easy to achieve but the political unrest stood in the way,” Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) President Abdus Salam Murshedy told the Dhaka Tribune. “Bangladesh will be far away from meeting the target on the basis of current growth trend,” CPD additional Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem told the Dhaka Tribune. He cited four broad reasons – political unrest in the first part of the year, devaluation of Euro against US dollar, slow demands from the European buyers and compliance issues – as obstacles to meeting the export earnings target. Bangladesh might be able to earn $3bn in the remaining two months by achieving 5% growth, he said, adding that the total export earnings will touch $31bn if it achieves 10% growth, he added. “In January-February period of the current fiscal, exporters failed to net expected orders due to political unrest, which cast shadow on export earnings,” EPB Vice-Chairman Shubhashish Bose told the Dhaka Tribune. Bose added that 10% growth target was set, but due to devaluation of Euro and political stalemate it would not be possible to reach the target. Some sector people also raised question about the growth as they witnessed negative production growth and accounts. “From my perspective and production report, I am doubtful about the growth target as products and earnings from export show meager growth,” an exporter said, preferring not to be named. From the beginning of the year, a jolt had been felt in production because of turbulent political atmosphere in the country, which hit earnings badly, he added. The government dreams to become a middle-income country by 2021 and to earn $50bn from RMG export by the fifth anniversary of Bangladesh’s birth, but it will be unlikely if the export earnings do not reach a desired level, he added.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/may/13/exports-set-miss-target#sthash.2XkS3OsK.dpuf

The country’s export earnings in the financial year 2014-15 is set to fall around $2 billion short of target as readymade garment exports witnessed sluggish growth because of restructuring of the garment sector and also political turmoil, economists and exporters said. The export earnings in the first 10 months of the FY15 stood at $25.30 billion, which is 5.71 per cent short of the target of $26.83 billion, according to the Export Promotion Bureau data released on Tuesday. With the current trend of $2.3 billion-$2.8 billion monthly export, the country may fetch at best $5.8 billion in the remaining two months of the fiscal year taking the total export earnings to around $31 billion, around $2 billion short of annual target of $33.20 billion, estimated the analysts. The government has set the export earnings growth target at 10.02 per cent for the current financial year 2014-15 — the lowest target rate since the FY09 when the goal was 15.50 per cent. The data showed that during July-April of the FY15 country’s export earnings growth was 2.63 higher than the same period of the FY14. It is unlikely to reach $33.20 billion export earnings target in the FY15 as the export of readymade garments has lost its space in the US market and political unrest hit export oriented sector from the beginning of the year, Centre pr Policy Dialogue executive director Mustafizur Rahman told New Age on Tuesday. ‘Export earnings in the current financial year may fall short of target by $2 billion and the earnings growth will be near to 4 per cent,’ he said. Mustafiz said that deprecation of euro was one of the reasons for the shortfall in export earnings target. ‘Reaching $33.20 billion export target will be impossible because of the political unrest and due to the impact of back-to-back Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashion fire incidents,’ Exporters Association of Bangladesh president Abdus Salam Murshedy told New Age. He said that the country’s readymade garment sector witnessed a slowdown in the financial year as global retailers started safety inspections in the sector following the Rana Plaza building collapse. During the period many small and medium factories were forced to suspend their productions as they failed to meet tough conditions enforced by the retailers’ platforms, Murshedy said. ‘We are not concerned about the missing of export earnings target, but we are hopeful that we could overcome the situation as we are developing our industry,’ he said. Earnings from readymade garments in July-April period fetched $20.56 billion against its target of $26.89 billion for the current fiscal year. As per the EPB data, export earnings from woven fall short of target by 4.53 per cent to $10.55 billion in the first 10 months of current financial year while knitwear exports stood at $10 billion which is 6.3 per cent short of its target. According to Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, a former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, it is obvious that if the RMG sector fails to achieve its target, the overall export earnings will miss the target as the RMG sector contributes to 81 per cent of the total export earnings. ‘It is not surprising that the export earnings in the current fiscal year may fall short of its target as the safety inspection of European and North American retailer groups is holding the sector back,’ he said. The country’s export earnings also missed its target by 1.06 per cent in the FY14. In the FY14, the exports grew by 11.65 per cent to $30.17 billion year-on-year missing the target of $30.5 billion, according to the EPB data.

Source: https://newagebd.net/119228/export-earning-set-to-fall-2b-short-of-target/#sthash.CCcJpbAH.dpuf

A female readymade garments factory worker was gang-raped in her factory bus in Dhondi area of Sonargaon upazila on Monday night. Sub-inspector of Sonargaon police station Md Aminul Islam said that the victim and other female workers were returning to residences in Dhondi area of Sonargaon from Araihazar upazila by their factory bus. They all were workers of Fakir Garments Factory in Araihazar upazila. When all but the victim got down from the bus, the bus driver Chandu Mia, his helper Rubel and other associates raped the girl in the vehicle. The girl became unconscious and the rapists fled leaving at a nearby house on the road. The bus started journey at 10.30 pm after the factory was closed and dropped passengers in different areas. Police being informed conducted a raid on Tuesday and arrested bus helper Rubel. OC of Sonargaon police station Kamrul Islam admitting the fact said that the drive will continue to arrest the culprits.

Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=257999:rmg-worker-gang-raped-in-bus-in-nganj&catid=136:metropolitan-others&Itemid=175