Why factories are accepting huge discounts

[Black_cats]

Why factories are accepting huge discounts
Mostafiz Uddin

• Published at 06:25 pm April 12th, 2020

Unethical purchasing practices disrupt the manufacturing cycle REUTERS

Existing practice in the industry has led to manufacturers not having any bargaining power

We are all aware that the global outbreak of Covid-19 has shaken global apparel supply chains. In the wake of the pandemic, orders placed with different manufacturers in Bangladesh worth more than $3 billion have been cancelled or put on hold by brands/retailers/importers.

After going into silence for more than a month, some brands and retailers are now coming back with a proposal of accepting a great percentage of discount on the agreed price of the orders or asking manufacturers to cancel goods. This is a totally unethical purchasing practice, yet some of the manufacturers are forced to accept such discounts.

Here, I want to offer an insider’s view about how this industry works and by what rules, to help people understand the reasons why manufacturers do not have any alternative other than to accept such discounts. Because of various existing rules and practices in the industry, manufacturers don’t have any bargaining or negotiation power and are ultimately forced to accept whatever clients ask them of them, regardless of how unethical.

The reasons are explained below.

No financial outlay from the client

Clients don’t invest any money on the orders they place. Manufacturers need to finance all raw material and bear all operational costs in advance before delivery of the goods.

Only then is payment received, and this can be deferred. Clients are free to leave the contract at any time without hesitation and they will not be out of pocket. In the current climate, we are seeing buyers ask for discounts of 50% on goods received 21 days ago. This is the situation we are in.

No irrevocable letter of credit

As a way to save bank charges, almost all brands/retailers have stopped working through irrevocable letters of credit which are usually called “Master LC.” Instead, they have started the practice of using sales contracts or purchase orders.

An irrevocable letter of credit is a financial instrument used by banks to guarantee a buyer’s obligations to a manufacturer. It is irrevocable because the letter of credit cannot be modified unless all parties agree to the modifications.

That means if the manufacturer fulfils the terms & conditions mentioned in the master LC and delivers the goods on time, the bank of the client is bound to pay the money on time. Unlike the master LC, the sales contract or purchase orders has no such legal binding and there is no way to get the money if the client stops the payment at their will.

Complications in legal steps

All manufacturers have to sign a format of contracts, agreement, codes of conduct, etc with the client which is absolutely made and drafted in favour of the client. Manufacturers must sign and agree with their client’s respective agreement as there is no other way to be listed as a supplier of that particular client without accepting it.

Such contracts/agreements make it difficult to take legal actions against any unethical purchasing practice applied by the clients. Moreover, taking legal steps in a foreign country involves lots of expenses and efforts which manufacturers don’t want to go through.

Afraid of future business

Disagreement with a client’s unethical purchasing practices often results in no further order placements from that client. This is a problem as, in the apparel industry, you cannot on-board a new client instantly.

Overloaded with suppliers and over production capacity, it may take up to a year before a manufacturer can develop a new client, develop products for them, and get new orders. Hence, if a manufacturer lost a client suddenly, a part of their production capacity would likely be empty for an extended period.

The manufacturer is solely responsible for payment

If a client holds payment or declines to deliver the goods or cancels an order, the manufacturer becomes solely responsible in terms of taking the financial liability. The bank then forces the manufacturer to pay for the raw materials, and all operational costs must be paid by the manufacturers. This includes workers who need to be paid their wages by the manufacturer.



If a client stops any payment, banks usually don’t get involved and don’t make any effort to collect the money for the client’s bank; rather, they make the manufacturer totally responsible for the payment.

Bank liability and complications

The apparel manufacturing business runs in Bangladesh very much depending on the local banking industry and their rules. Banks allow the manufacturers to purchase raw materials for a particular order and pay working capital. All this money needs to be paid back by the manufacturer to the bank within a certain time and this is supposed to be fulfilled by getting payment from the client on time.

This is where the issue of discounting is a problem. If a manufacturer doesn’t accept a discounted price, the client will stop the total payment resulting in breaking the financial cycle of the manufacturer with the local bank. If this is not resolved within a specific time, the manufacturer will be declared a defaulter and the total business operations of the manufacturer may come to an end.

Cashflow and payment of workers’ wages

Paying workers’ wages on time is a major issue in this industry. The industry has huge problems in terms of worker unrest, and lack of payment or delayed payment of workers understandably leads to industrial strife. This is the last thing any manufacturer would want to bring to their factory.

To avoid this, the cashflow of the operation must be constant -- this is the ultimate vital element of an apparel manufacturing factory in Bangladesh. If the delivery of ready goods/orders/payments is stopped by the client, the manufacturer will fall into a lack of cashflow, making him/her unable to pay the wages of workers.

Overstock/inventory of ready goods

Any apparel manufacturing business runs through a specific product lifecycle time. Every manufacturer has a calculated and limited storage capacity in the factory for ready goods. If the client is not taking goods on time, there will come a situation that the manufacturer will be unable to produce any new goods as their storage capacity will be full and amount of delayed goods will hamper the factory’s compliance levels and working environment.

The show must go on

Last but not the least, a manufacturer usually employs 5,000-10,000 workers at their factory. As thousands of families depend on the income of the employment, a manufacturer always wants to put his/her last drop of effort to save the factory and continue the employment.

Hence, they often accept discounts with a thought of incurring loss but continuing the factory operation. Clients are aware and they take advantage of this by enforcing unethical purchasing practices.

To come out from this unethical purchasing practice and unfair situation, partnership and trust between the clients and the manufacturers is vital. The current and existing business norms need a complete overhaul. Brands and retailers/clients need to engage in financial investment in the supply chain.

A new system whereby buyers pay for raw materials at the time of placing orders would be a major step forward. The trade associations of the manufacturers as well as the buyers can play a vital role there.

These associations can discuss and formulate a set of guidelines which both the buyers and manufacturers have to comply with. The guidelines will include clauses such as no orders without irrevocable LC.

The global apparel industry is a dynamic sector which contributes to the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across the world. As this is an industry that involves supply chains in different countries, it’s time global trade organizations like the WTO brought this industry under its legal purview and there should be provision of seeking legal redress to the WTO if any party of the supply chain is hindered by another.

Last but not least, there should be unity among manufacturers. The tendency of clients “preying on the weak” is commonplace, mainly due to the lack of unity and cooperation between the manufacturers.

Mostafiz Uddin is the Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited. He is also the Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo and Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE). He can be reached at mostafiz@denimexpert.com. This article previously appeared on Apparel Insider and has been reprinted by special permission.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/2020/04/12/why-factories-are-accepting-huge-discounts

 

[Bilal9]

There are two factors in the situations above - very simple ones. For the sake of argument, I will outline them. But how to resolve them is another question and a subject of discussion/analysis. The root cause is that mfrs. in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Vietnam and Cambodia are not organized and act like petty businessmen competing for a quarter-cent in pricing, so naturally these third rate business-people from Europe take advantage of this situation.

Granted there will always be pressure mounted to lower Bangladesh prices but there should be some fair compensation offered otherwise there is no point operating apparel factories anymore.

I suggest a public-reward initiative with subtle overtures in EU/US which works the opposite of public shaming - such as "ASDA pays fair prices to buy from third world countries" so EU/US fashion buyers are better aware.

Ad-campaigns designed by EU/US ad agencies can run in womens' fashion/cooking interest magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan etc. BGMEA and other apparel organizations in the other countries can collectively bear the expense of running these periodic ad campaigns in agreement with the compliant buyers such as Walmart, Tesco, Target, ASDA etc.

Media control is where its at - use the power of the media.

1. Buyers are taking advantage of us because they have other options
- This is mainly psychological and a little bit practical. We have to intimately understand what our supposed competitors/manufacturers (in the same price level) in other countries have as capabilities and how we can form better alliances with them (some capabilities are complementary) and come to an understanding with all these apparel mfr. organizations using private and govt. initiatives. We have to do a heck of a better job at it than we're currently doing. We have to do our homework of organizing so that buyers cannot take advantage of us.

Let's say we have a rogue European buyer who is doing intentional shady tricks like deliberate stock lots to swindle factories in Bangladesh. Then they are going to India or Pakistan to try the same trick if we in Bangladesh show him the door. We can set up an information database (blacklist) for garment mfr. organizations (such as our BGMEA) so we can prevent this guy from conducting the same swindle in other countries. This arrangement has to be well organized and iron-bound so we can identify these swindlers and prevent their activities without fail. Of course large buyers like H&M, Walmart don't fall into this category, but strength always multiplies in numbers.

2. Local Factories Working without Irrevocable Letters of Credit
- This is sad because an Irrevocable L/C is a guarantee of payment to the mfr. that a buyer is always hesitant to get into, if they have any other option.

There must be some discussion and agreement with certain smaller/weaker factories that work on purchase contract or C/M basis. If an Indian is running a Garments factory in Bangladesh and going into this kind of Gaddari, by selling his/her employer out, then that Indian needs to be blacklisted across all regions in the subcontinent and thrown out of the country so they don't find employment anywhere else, not even as a buyer's rep.

BGMEA and other national organizations must come to an agreement whether to accept purchase agreements (or L/C) for their member factories and what the consequence will be - IMHO nothing other than an L/C should be accepted to prevent the like of what is happening now - a 50% discount. These are massive swindles on a massive scale. These swindlers must be made to pay by publicizing their unethical swindling practices after the fact.

This is the price we pay for not setting up marketing and merchandising arms in the US and EU to get rid of these shady wholesalers in those markets. On the contrary, the Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans have set up shop in EU/US (even smaller niche businesses, besides apparel). They don't want to be beholden to these scammy wholesalers and we should not either.

There must be a system where buyers go through the BGMEA supervised process of bidding on specific orders - and factories bid competitively to win these orders.

But L/C payment system must not be compromised.

All apparel manufacturing countries in the region must meet regularly (the likes of national apparel manufacturer regulatory bodies) and then take these steps to regulate their own manufacturers so abuses and swindling are minimized.

 

[Michael Corleone]

There are two factors in the situations above - very simple ones. For the sake of argument, I will outline them. But how to resolve them is another question and a subject of discussion/analysis. The root cause is that mfrs. in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Vietnam and Cambodia are not organized and act like petty businessmen competing for a quarter-cent in pricing, so naturally these third rate business-people from Europe take advantage of this situation.

Granted there will always be pressure mounted to lower Bangladesh prices but there should be some fair compensation offered otherwise there is no point operating apparel factories anymore.

I suggest a public-reward initiative with subtle overtures in EU/US which works the opposite of public shaming - such as "ASDA pays fair prices to buy from third world countries" so EU/US fashion buyers are better aware.

Ad-campaigns designed by EU/US ad agencies can run in womens' fashion/cooking interest magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan etc. BGMEA and other apparel organizations in the other countries can collectively bear the expense of running these periodic ad campaigns in agreement with the compliant buyers such as Walmart, Tesco, Target, ASDA etc.

Media control is where its at - use the power of the media.

1. Buyers are taking advantage of us because they have other options
- This is mainly psychological and a little bit practical. We have to intimately understand what our supposed competitors/manufacturers (in the same price level) in other countries have as capabilities and how we can form better alliances with them (some capabilities are complementary) and come to an understanding with all these apparel mfr. organizations using private and govt. initiatives. We have to do a heck of a better job at it than we're currently doing. We have to do our homework of organizing so that buyers cannot take advantage of us.

Let's say we have a rogue European buyer who is doing intentional shady tricks like deliberate stock lots to swindle factories in Bangladesh. Then they are going to India or Pakistan to try the same trick if we in Bangladesh show him the door. We can set up an information database (blacklist) for garment mfr. organizations (such as our BGMEA) so we can prevent this guy from conducting the same swindle in other countries. This arrangement has to be well organized and iron-bound so we can identify these swindlers and prevent their activities without fail. Of course large buyers like H&M, Walmart don't fall into this category, but strength always multiplies in numbers.

2. Local Factories Working without Irrevocable Letters of Credit
- This is sad because an Irrevocable L/C is a guarantee of payment to the mfr. that a buyer is always hesitant to get into, if they have any other option.

There must be some discussion and agreement with certain smaller/weaker factories that work on purchase contract or C/M basis. If an Indian is running a Garments factory in Bangladesh and going into this kind of Gaddari, by selling his/her employer out, then that Indian needs to be blacklisted across all regions in the subcontinent and thrown out of the country so they don't find employment anywhere else, not even as a buyer's rep.

BGMEA and other national organizations must come to an agreement whether to accept purchase agreements (or L/C) for their member factories and what the consequence will be - IMHO nothing other than an L/C should be accepted to prevent the like of what is happening now - a 50% discount. These are massive swindles on a massive scale. These swindlers must be made to pay by publicizing their unethical swindling practices after the fact.

This is the price we pay for not setting up marketing and merchandising arms in the US and EU to get rid of these shady wholesalers in those markets. On the contrary, the Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans have set up shop in EU/US (even smaller niche businesses, besides apparel). They don't want to be beholden to these scammy wholesalers and we should not either.

There must be a system where buyers go through the BGMEA supervised process of bidding on specific orders - and factories bid competitively to win these orders.

But L/C payment system must not be compromised.

All apparel manufacturing countries in the region must meet regularly (the likes of national apparel manufacturer regulatory bodies) and then take these steps to regulate their own manufacturers so abuses and swindling are minimized.

From what I see I agree with your points. I think there should be a equivalent of OPEC in ready made garments manufacturing world. Getting countries like Vietnam, Pakistan on board is a different story altogether

 

[Turingsage]

It is sad that the most vulnerable are going to be shafted by China failing to control its wet markets

 

[Bilal9]

From what I see I agree with your points. I think there should be a equivalent of OPEC in ready made garments manufacturing world. Getting countries like Vietnam, Pakistan on board is a different story altogether

Well I have hope. These surrounding countries have to understand that we are all in it together or we all lose together. Unless that realization can be translated to formally inked agreements, there is no hope.

But in either case - we have to diversify away soon from these bulk apparel goods anyone can make with no skills. We have to focus and invest on niche sectors and specialize on manufacturing certain high-demand products (recent investments in light engineering, electronics and shipbuilding come to mind) so that we have unique selling propositions or USP (Marketing Course 101). Unless you have USP, you are either a price-leader (our current position) or have some other advantage. But without USP - buyers will always take advantage of you.

Right now, in our country we have created a buyers market. We need to flip it so that it is a seller's market.

 

[fallstuff]

There are two factors in the situations above - very simple ones. For the sake of argument, I will outline them. But how to resolve them is another question and a subject of discussion/analysis. The root cause is that mfrs. in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Vietnam and Cambodia are not organized and act like petty businessmen competing for a quarter-cent in pricing, so naturally these third rate business-people from Europe take advantage of this situation.

Granted there will always be pressure mounted to lower Bangladesh prices but there should be some fair compensation offered otherwise there is no point operating apparel factories anymore.

I suggest a public-reward initiative with subtle overtures in EU/US which works the opposite of public shaming - such as "ASDA pays fair prices to buy from third world countries" so EU/US fashion buyers are better aware.

Ad-campaigns designed by EU/US ad agencies can run in womens' fashion/cooking interest magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan etc. BGMEA and other apparel organizations in the other countries can collectively bear the expense of running these periodic ad campaigns in agreement with the compliant buyers such as Walmart, Tesco, Target, ASDA etc.

Media control is where its at - use the power of the media.

1. Buyers are taking advantage of us because they have other options
- This is mainly psychological and a little bit practical. We have to intimately understand what our supposed competitors/manufacturers (in the same price level) in other countries have as capabilities and how we can form better alliances with them (some capabilities are complementary) and come to an understanding with all these apparel mfr. organizations using private and govt. initiatives. We have to do a heck of a better job at it than we're currently doing. We have to do our homework of organizing so that buyers cannot take advantage of us.

Let's say we have a rogue European buyer who is doing intentional shady tricks like deliberate stock lots to swindle factories in Bangladesh. Then they are going to India or Pakistan to try the same trick if we in Bangladesh show him the door. We can set up an information database (blacklist) for garment mfr. organizations (such as our BGMEA) so we can prevent this guy from conducting the same swindle in other countries. This arrangement has to be well organized and iron-bound so we can identify these swindlers and prevent their activities without fail. Of course large buyers like H&M, Walmart don't fall into this category, but strength always multiplies in numbers.

2. Local Factories Working without Irrevocable Letters of Credit
- This is sad because an Irrevocable L/C is a guarantee of payment to the mfr. that a buyer is always hesitant to get into, if they have any other option.

There must be some discussion and agreement with certain smaller/weaker factories that work on purchase contract or C/M basis. If an Indian is running a Garments factory in Bangladesh and going into this kind of Gaddari, by selling his/her employer out, then that Indian needs to be blacklisted across all regions in the subcontinent and thrown out of the country so they don't find employment anywhere else, not even as a buyer's rep.

BGMEA and other national organizations must come to an agreement whether to accept purchase agreements (or L/C) for their member factories and what the consequence will be - IMHO nothing other than an L/C should be accepted to prevent the like of what is happening now - a 50% discount. These are massive swindles on a massive scale. These swindlers must be made to pay by publicizing their unethical swindling practices after the fact.

This is the price we pay for not setting up marketing and merchandising arms in the US and EU to get rid of these shady wholesalers in those markets. On the contrary, the Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans have set up shop in EU/US (even smaller niche businesses, besides apparel). They don't want to be beholden to these scammy wholesalers and we should not either.

There must be a system where buyers go through the BGMEA supervised process of bidding on specific orders - and factories bid competitively to win these orders.

But L/C payment system must not be compromised.

All apparel manufacturing countries in the region must meet regularly (the likes of national apparel manufacturer regulatory bodies) and then take these steps to regulate their own manufacturers so abuses and swindling are minimized.

I am going to be the devil's advocate. If you think from the buyer's perspective they may have problems selling their goods either to their retail customers or to a third party. I'm hearing that by the time the business is sort of back to normal just maybe July of this year. These discounted deals just maybe enough to keep factories running and pay their workers. It may not put money in the owner's pocket but it will at least keep millions of people working to help them put food on the table.

Just my two cents.

 

[Bilal9]

I am going to be the devil's advocate. If you think from the buyer's perspective they may have problems selling their goods either to their retail customers or to a third party. I'm hearing that by the time the business is sort of back to normal just maybe July of this year. These discounted deals just maybe enough to keep factories running and pay their workers. It may not put money in the owner's pocket but it will at least keep millions of people working to help them put food on the table.

Just my two cents.

Well yeah - that's one way to look at it, the owner sacrifices profits temporarily. But our apparel factory owners cow down too easily. One has to realize that the living standards of Indian/Pakistani/Malaysian/Chinese/Indonesian middle-class has gone up in the past decades and those countries themselves consist of very attractive retail markets. True the price points may not be as premium as say High Street EU/US brands/labels but it is certainly comparable to H&M, Walmart, Target etc. Sometimes countries like Indonesia can produce equivalent items but we can have complimentary items as well, mostly at lower cost than anyone else.

We in Bangladesh have to keep those Asian markets in mind as sellers and if European buyers are too inflexible, maybe we can start preferring Asian buyers. In any case - working on purchase contract or C/M basis has to be avoided and an irrevocable letter of credit (L/C) must be the preferred instrument of business contracts.

 

[F86 Saber]

With all due respect, this is Bangladesh's own doing. I have been working in top Textile Groups in Pakistan for 13 years and understand dynamics of the market fully well. In an effort to achieve Sheikh Hassina's target of 50 billion textile exports, Bangladeshi garment manufacturers have gone to all lengths just to get more orders including offering open payment terms and ridiculously low prices.

Since they agree such terms with buyers, they in turn have to manipulate their suppliers due to which fabric and accessory suppliers are hesitant to work with Bangladeshi factories on open terms. Even when L/C is involved, it is common practice that Factories get the shipments released without accepting documents and then delay the payment in full knowledge of the banks. Garment factories also try to make up for low garment prices by giving fake claims to fabric suppliers in an effort to milk money, it is easy for them to do as even after accepting L/C documents they ask their banks to stop supplier payments unless they cough up some discount.

Bangladesh is paying for their own wrong doings.

 

[nahtanbob]

What you need is consolidation of suppliers ? There is no reason to have 200 separate companies supplying.

 

[Michael Corleone]

Well I have hope. These surrounding countries have to understand that we are all in it together or we all lose together. Unless that realization can be translated to formally inked agreements, there is no hope.

But in either case - we have to diversify away soon from these bulk apparel goods anyone can make with no skills. We have to focus and invest on niche sectors and specialize on manufacturing certain high-demand products (recent investments in light engineering, electronics and shipbuilding come to mind) so that we have unique selling propositions or USP (Marketing Course 101). Unless you have USP, you are either a price-leader (our current position) or have some other advantage. But without USP - buyers will always take advantage of you.

Right now, in our country we have created a buyers market. We need to flip it so that it is a seller's market.

Walton gives me high hopes. If govt incentivized their business heavily they could be Compared to Samsung one day

 

[UKBengali]

Walton gives me high hopes. If govt incentivized their business heavily they could be Compared to Samsung one day

Not just Walton but the pharmaceutical companies are doing wonders now - growth has been running at 25% a year in the home market and exports at 15% for the last decade. BD based companies now supply 98% of the home market and this is predicted to rise to 99% within a few years.
Also the API Park has finally had construction started and should be ready by 2023 - once this is up and running it, BD will be supply 50% of all raw ingredients for drugs compared to just 10% now.

Too early to tell whether Walton will ever reach the lofty heights of Samsung but it is far better than any alternative in S Asia - already sold TVs to German OEM and smartphones to USA OEM should tell you about it's quality standards.

BD's high population may actually become a blessing rather than a curse as only the large home market has allowed the likes of Walton and Beximco(drugs) to become the companies they have become today.

 

[Michael Corleone]

Not just Walton but the pharmaceutical companies are doing wonders now - growth has been running at 25% a year in the home market and exports at 15% for the last decade. BD based companies now supply 98% of the home market and this is predicted to rise to 99% within a few years.
Also the API Park has finally had construction started and should be ready by 2023 - once this is up and running it, BD will be supply 50% of all raw ingredients for drugs compared to just 10% now.

Too early to tell whether Walton will ever reach the lofty heights of Samsung but it is far better than any alternative in S Asia - already sold TVs to German OEM and smartphones to USA OEM should tell you about it's quality standards.

BD's high population may actually become a blessing rather than a curse as only the large home market has allowed the likes of Walton and Beximco(drugs) to become the companies they have become today.

Patent expired drugs manufacturing is nothing to write home about. Bd will need to invest in research of new drugs to ever challenge major drug companies. Or it could flood US with opiates and risk bd getting kicked out of the international market

 

[UKBengali]

Patent expired drugs manufacturing is nothing to write home about. Bd will need to invest in research of new drugs to ever challenge major drug companies. Or it could flood US with opiates and risk bd getting kicked out of the international market

BD is doing a lot better than other comparable countries in drugs and so credit where credit is due.

As for R&D into new drugs, forget about that for 5-10 years as the revenues are not there yet in BD - they need to keep growing their revenues for the next 5-10 years like they have been doing over the last decade and then will have the money for serious R&D.

 

[bluesky]

From what I see I agree with your points. I think there should be a equivalent of OPEC in ready made garments manufacturing world. Getting countries like Vietnam, Pakistan on board is a different story altogether

OPEC? How about the free fall of oil prices throughout the OPEC countries? There are givers of crude oil but no taker. It is the same with garments. No taker because of coronavirus. No theory will cause the prices to become normal unless the disease is soundly tackled.

A natural product with a huge demand can form OPEC. But, is the garments item such a natural thing? It is stitching that can be done by any country anywhere in the world. All of today's developed countries at one time started with garments and textiles, unlike crude oil.

 

[Michael Corleone]

OPEC? How about the free fall of oil prices throughout the OPEC countries? There are givers of crude oil but no taker. It is the same with garments. No taker because of coronavirus. No theory will cause the prices to become normal unless the disease is soundly tackled.

A natural product with a huge demand can form OPEC. But, is the garments item such a natural thing? It is stitching that can be done by any country anywhere in the world. All of today's developed countries at one time started with garments and textiles, unlike crude oil.

Well, Saudi is the reason oil prices are down, they wanted Russia to sell less than what Russians were selling, they refused and Saudi dropped the prices to crash Russian oil revenue. Without a collective understanding among the OPEC countries, such steep fall would not have occurred without consequences.
As for garments, I agree but take into consideration that these developed countries cannot all of a sudden start garments industry. The price of clothes would jump exponentially if such was attempted. This is why I think a Union among the garments producing nation to bring the big powers to the table is necessary. Heck start lobbying in US media, no apparel customer would want their brand image to suffer for their shrewd tactics

BD is doing a lot better than other comparable countries in drugs and so credit where credit is due.

As for R&D into new drugs, forget about that for 5-10 years as the revenues are not there yet in BD - they need to keep growing their revenues for the next 5-10 years like they have been doing over the last decade and then will have the money for serious R&D.

Thing is bd would loose a lots of benefits in 2 years time when it graduates into middle income country officially. They would have to start paying royalty for patent holding drugs that haven’t expired (25years) and that’s where Bangladesh might suffer, losing its competitive edge in UK, USA etc