Back duty-free entry for US cotton-made RMG: Bangladesh BTMA to NCCA
The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has requested the National Cotton Council of America (NCCA) to back Bangladesh in negotiating duty-free access to the US market for readymade garment (RMG) products manufactured using US cotton.
The textile millers' association also called for permanent waiver of the additional 37-per cent duty on exports to the United States to help expand US cotton exports to Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association has urged the National Cotton Council of America to back Bangladesh in negotiating duty-free access to the US market for US cotton-made garments. It also called for permanent waiver of the additional 37-per cent duty on exports to the US to help expand US cotton exports to Bangladesh. A BTMA delegation is scheduled to visit the US for high-level dialogue.
A letter by BTMA president Showkat Aziz Russell to NCCA president and chief executive officer Gary Adams said the 90-day tariff suspension window presents a "critical opportunity for strategic diplomacy and negotiation", and called for Bangladesh's permanent removal from the list of countries facing the extra duty.
During this grace period, a baseline reciprocal US duty of 10 per cent has been introduced, implying Bangladesh currently faces a total 26 per cent duty on exports to the United States.
A BTMA delegation is scheduled to visit the United States for high-level dialogue with government and private stakeholders, according to domestic media outlets.
The association represents 1,856 member mills involved in yarn and fabric production, dyeing, printing, and finishing, with a cumulative investment worth $23 billion.
BTMA is also preparing to establish a dedicated central warehouse in Bangladesh exclusively for US cotton, demonstrating its commitment to raising the use of American cotton in its production.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Donald Trump is pushing cash for all American babies. What are ‘Trump Accounts'? Explained
US President Donald Trump wants to make a significant but limited investment in newborn babies through his 'Big Beautiful Bill'. On Monday, the president touted a provision in his tax cut bill that proposes opening investment accounts for all American babies born during Trump's current term as President. These accounts have been dubbed "Trump Accounts", and families of all income levels could receive them. The 'Trump Accounts' pilot program is included in the 'One Big Beautiful Bill'. Simply put, these are new tax-exempt investment accounts to benefit all American children. An earlier version of the bill called them MAGA Accounts, referring to the president's Make America Great Again campaign slogan. During a roundtable on Monday, Trump said, "For every US citizen born after December 31, 2024, before January 1, 2029, the federal government will make a one-time contribution of $1,000 into a tax-deferred account that will track the overall stock accounts will be private property controlled by the child's guardians. This provision means that every US citizen born between the start of 2025 and the end of 2028 would receive $1,000 initially from the federal government in a tax-deferred account. The accounts would, over the course of a child's first 18 years, be linked to a mutual fund or index fund tied to the performance of the stock market. The initiative further allows parents to contribute additionally — up to $5,000 tax-free each year to "Trump Accounts". The money would only be accessible to the child upon reaching adult status at 18. At age 18, children could withdraw the money to put toward a down payment for a home, education or to start a small business. If the money is used for other purposes, it'll be taxed at a higher rate. The full balance would be available at age 30, USA Today reported. With about 3.6 million babies born in the US each year, the cost could exceed $3 billion annually, the Washington Post reported. Republicans have yet not released any cost estimates for the program. Amid criticism from several people, including former aide Elon Musk, Trump is trying hard to get his 'Big, Beautiful' tax and spending bill approved by the Senate. On Monday, Trump worked the phones and took to social media to try to sway Republican holdouts on his multi-trillion-dollar tax bill. Trump further promoted the program as a pro-family, pro-child initiative at a time when his administration and congressional Republicans are facing criticism over cuts that the tax, spending and immigration bill would make to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It's feared that the tax and spending cut package will add more than $3 trillion to the US national debt over the next decade. The House of Representatives approved the bill by one vote last month. It now faces opposition from both moderates and ultra-conservatives in the Senate. Many in favour of this provision say that it doesn't distinguish between the rich and the poor. The Trump program is similar to 'baby bond' programs run in California, Connecticut and Washington, D.C, according to the Washington Post. The report says that while those local programs were created to reduce the wealth gap by supporting children in need or lower-income families, Trump accounts will be made available to Americans regardless of their socioeconomic status. Moreover, USA Today reported that the program serves as a counter to Democratic arguments that the bill helps the nation's wealthiest Americans. Meanwhile, a statement from the White House said, "The One Big Beautiful Bill will change the lives of middle-class families across America" — 'together with historic tax cuts, an increased child tax credit, higher wages, and monumental economic growth.' President Trump said on Monday that the mega bill would 'make it possible for countless American children to have a strong start at life at no cost to the American taxpayer.' Meanwhile, Dell CEO Michael Dell said, "With these accounts, children will be much more likely to graduate from college, to start a business, to buy a home, and achieve lifelong financial stability.' Amid the buzz over "Trump Accounts", Donald Trump gathered corporate leaders at the White House Monday to highlight a provision in his tax bill that would deposit $1,000 into an investment account for babies born in the next few years. Dell Technologies, Salesforce, Uber and Goldman Sachs were among the companies the White House said would be participating. 'They'll really be getting a big jump on life, especially if we get a little bit lucky with some of the numbers and the economy," the US President said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Scale AI's billionaire founder drives a Honda Civic and shops at Shein — Lucy Guo says it's how you stay rich
Lucy Guo, the youngest self-made female billionaire and co-founder of Scale AI, lives a surprisingly frugal life despite her $1.2 billion fortune. Eschewing lavish displays of wealth, she prefers practical choices like an old Honda Civic and shopping at Shein. Guo believes true billionaires don't need to flaunt their wealth, as they've already proven themselves. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Lucy Guo: A Billionaire Who Hates Wasting Money Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Millionaires Show Off, Billionaires Don't Need To, Says Lucy Guo FAQs Even though Lucy Guo is the youngest self-made female billionaire, you won't catch her living like it. The 30-year-old tech entrepreneur co-founded the $25 billion AI startup Scale AI and is one of just five female billionaires under 40, as per Forbes's latest ranking, yet her daily life looks more like that of an average American, as per a told Fortune in a recent interview, 'I don't like wasting money,' as quoted in the report. She means it literally: her assistant drives her around in an old Honda Civic, she wears mostly free clothes or shops from Shein, and she still prefers to avail Uber Eats' buy-one-get-one-free deals, according to estimated $1.2 billion fortune comes from her 5% stake in Scale AI, a company she left back in 2018 but helped build from the ground up, as per the report. At present, she is the founder and CEO of the creator community platform Passes, according to READ: Elon Musk slams his own AI chatbot Grok after it spreads bizarre rumor about him stealing Stephen Miller's wife She splurges occasionally, like flying business class for a 16-hour journey or buying a designer dress for special events—but insists that day-to-day, she spends her money frugally, as per the report. The American entrepreneur revealed that, 'But in terms of like daily life, my assistant just drives me in a pretty old Honda Civic. I don't care,' quoted quoted a saying she came across recently, 'It's like, act broke, stay rich,' as per billionaire founder pointed out that, 'Who you see typically wasting money on designer clothes, a nice car, et cetera, they're technically in the millionaire range,' adding, 'All their friends are multimillionaires or billionaires, and they feel a little bit insecure, so they feel the need to be flashy to show other people, Look, I'm successful," as quoted in the explained that, 'I do think that this is actually something that I personally went through, and I think a lot of people go through when you're in that middle ground of you're successful, but not as successful as you want to be," quoted went on to say, 'And I think the reason most billionaires dress in a T-shirt, jeans, hoodies is that they can. They don't need to be in the suit 24/7 because they're done proving themselves to the rest of the world. The rest of the world is just sucking up to them,' adding, 'And I think that's kind of how I like feel, where I'm past that hump. I don't really have to prove myself to anyone," quoted tech entrepreneur also highlighted that, 'No one's going to look at me and point at me like, 'Ha ha, she's so broke' when I'm pulling up in a Honda Civic because whatever, it doesn't matter,' as quoted in the She's worth about $1.2 billion due to her 5% stake in Scale simply doesn't care about showing off and doesn't want to waste money to prove to people around her that she is rich.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Crypto payments company founder Iurii Gugnin charged in $500 million money laundering scheme
Representative image Iurii Gugnin , a 38-year-old founder of a US-based cryptocurrency payments company, has been charged with orchestrating an international money laundering scheme that allegedly channeled over $500 million through the American financial system on behalf of sanctioned Russian banks and other entities. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Gugnin used his companies – Evita investments and Evita Pay , to move millions of dollars between June 2023 and January 2025. He allegedly concealed the true origin and purpose of the funds. The transactions were primarily conducted using tether, a widely used stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, the DOJ said. Gugnin, also known as Iurii Mashukov and George Goognin, faces a sweeping 22-count indictment, including charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, violating U.S. sanctions and export controls, and failing to implement anti-money laundering protocols. Charges against Iurii Gugnin According to court documents, Gugnin is charged with wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering compliance program, failing to file suspicious activity reports, money laundering, and related conspiracy charges. Gugnin was arrested and arraigned today in New York. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo 'The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money, moving over half a billion dollars through the U.S. financial system to aid sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end-users acquire sensitive U.S. technology,' said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. 'The Department of Justice will not hesitate to bring to justice those who imperil our national security by enabling our foreign adversaries to sidestep sanctions and export controls.' Clients included individuals and businesses linked to Sberbank, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, Tinkoff, and state nuclear firm Rosatom. Prosecutors allege Gugnin lied to banks and digital asset platforms, falsified compliance documents, and used shell accounts and fake invoices to hide Russian ties. The indictment also claims Gugnin had direct ties to Russian intelligence operatives and officials in Iran, both of which are non-extradition countries. He is further accused of helping export controlled U.S. technology, including anti-terrorism-grade servers, to Russian clients. Gugnin's internet search history revealed he was aware of the legal consequences Federal investigators noted that Gugnin's internet search history showed he was aware of legal jeopardy, with queries like 'how to know if there is an investigation against you' and 'money laundering penalties US.' Previously featured in a Wall Street Journal article about affluent renters, Gugnin was reportedly paying $19,000 a month for a Manhattan apartment. If convicted on all charges, Gugnin could face a sentence far exceeding the 30-year maximum for bank fraud alone. HP EliteBook Ultra Review: Thin, light, power in a premium package
