The Bangladesh Parliament has passed a new textiles bill that aims to promote investment in the country’s readymade garments sector.

The bill was placed in parliament in June this year by state minister for textiles and jute, Mirza Azam. Its objective is to maintain and enhance the quality of textile products as the industry continues to earn significant foreign currency from its garment exports.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Annual exports of Bangladeshi apparel products grew 2% to US$29.33bn in 2017 from $28.22bn in 2016.

The Bangladeshi Parliament said the passing of the bill will “make life easier” for operators in the industry.

The announcement comes as the country focuses on strengthening its trade ties with major importers of its goods.

Last week the US and Bangladesh committed to strengthening trade and economic ties between the two countries. Both governments pledged their commitment to deepen their engagement and grow their trade and economic ties. The United States particularly noted its concerns on overall labour reform and expressed its hope for an ongoing collaboration with the private sector on worker safety. 

Bangladesh was suspended from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme in 2013 as a result of concerns on workers’ rights and safety.

Also last week, the government approved a 51% increase in the minimum wage for the country’s garment workers.