State of U.S. Relationship
Stability Factors
The United States is Bangladesh’s largest export market. Our countries have signed a bilateral investment treaty, as well as a bilateral treaty for the avoidance of double taxation. In 2014, U.S. direct investment in Bangladesh was $465 million, an increase of 12.6 percent from 2013. Our governments held the second annual Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) meeting in Washington on November 23, 2015, which highlighted the potential for greater cooperation with Bangladesh, particularly in areas of developing infrastructure and energy resources.
Future Government Plans
Better Work is a partnership between the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) that combines expertise of the ILO in social dialogue, labor standards and the application of labor standards, with those of IFC in private-sector development. Operational since 2009, Better Work covers almost 1,000 factories and over 1 million workers in Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Lesotho, Nicaragua and Viet Nam, as well as through the Better Factories Cambodia program. A recently launched program in Bangladesh will greatly increase the number of factories and workers assisted.
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