US will still withhold Bangladesh trade benefits

The US government says Bangladesh has not made sufficient progress on improving labour standards to justify reinstatement of duty-free trade benefits suspended after the global textile industry's worst disaster.
Washington suspended the benefits last June, two months after the collapse of Rana Plaza factory building in Dhaka that killed hundreds.
Senior Labour Department official Eric Biel said that late last month, the US conveyed to Bangladesh that despite progress in some areas, it had not done enough under an action plan laid out by Washington.
Biel was speaking today at a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing examining the political instability in Bangladesh and workers' rights.

Among those providing testifying is Reba Siker, who was pulled from the rubble of the Rana Plaza after being trapped for two days.