The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the world’s biggest trade bloc. The 15-member countries account for about 30 per cent of the world’s population (2.2 billion people) and 30 per cent of global GDP (US $ 26.2 trillion) as of 2020, making it the biggest trade bloc in history. The China-backed group, excluding the USA, is a free trade agreement between the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Experts opine that RCEP and the new regime in USA, with President-elect Joe Biden all set to become the next President, would have wide-ranging ramifications on Bangladesh. AOB explores…

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought new challenges for the garment makers who are caught between the challenge of ensuring workers’ safety and well-being, while simultaneously making sure that the workforce is engaged productively for the sake of business sustainability. Meanwhile, with the second wave of this pandemic gripping Europe, garment suppliers in Bangladesh are bracing new challenges as reports of order cancellation already reached US $ 6.6 million in November. AOB spoke to some concerned people to get to the depth of things and know how they are managing things.