The United States has called for Bangladesh to reform its labour laws to extend the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining to export-processing zones and special economic zones.
It also presses for easing trade union registration requirements for workers and a fair minimum wage process for garment workers.
The US cited Bangladesh as one of its top apparel suppliers in Asia with relatively weaker labour standards and environment protections.
"Despite progress in worker safety standards in the last decade, the United States continues to urge Bangladesh to align its domestic labour laws with international labour standards," according to a latest USTR policy paper series on supply-chain resilience.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on January 07 released 'Adapting Trade Policy for Supply Chain Resilience: Responding to Today's Global Economic Challenges', a series of six policy papers on trade and investment policy initiatives that promote supply-chain resilience.
Data shows US imports of apparel from Bangladesh totalled $7.1 billion in 2023.
The papers said weaker labour standards and environmental protections in China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia and lower prices of imports from these countries relative to goods manufactured by US and global firms undercut the ability of US workers and industries to compete fairly.
Non-existent, weak or ineffective labour and environmental protections or violations of labour rights contribute to artificially low production costs and constitute unfair and anti-competitive non-market policies and practices.
Violations of social and environmental sustainability measures also pose serious reputational risk to companies operating in the textile and apparel sector, added the report.
Concerning safety hazards in factories in these countries have resulted in the deaths of workers, it said citing example of the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse in Dhaka that killed over 1,000 workers.
Furthermore, women, who make up an estimated 80 per cent of garment workers globally, often face gender discrimination, physical abuse and sexual harassment for disrespecting basic rights in garment units.
The report also stressed the need to address concerns in the areas of violence against and harassment of workers, unfair labour practices, freedom of association, collective bargaining, and the need for a fair and transparent minimum wage process for garment workers.
It said USTR and interagency partners have regularly engaged with Bangladesh government in this connection.
"The United States called for Bangladesh to reform its labour laws to extend the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining to the export processing zones and special economic zones and to ease the trade union registration requirements for workers."
The USTR engages with stakeholders such as trade associations, NGOs, apparel brands, trade union leaders and workers to increase support for improvements in worker rights in Bangladesh.
Textile and apparel industries account for an estimated 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and these industries contribute substantially to water pollution, primarily due to agrochemical runoff from natural fibre crop production, effluent discharge from manufacturing facilities, and limited-use "fast fashion" synthetic fabrics that shed microplastics with each wash.
In December 2024, the USTR initiated for the first time an investigation under Section 301 to investigate acts, policies and practices that may violate labour and human rights.
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