Bangladesh said it has met the conditions put forward by the U.S. for better safety and workers' rights in its factories that were essential to regain preferential trade status the impoverished South Asian nation lost in 2013 after two disasters killed 1,500 garment workers.
The preferential trade status does not cover Bangladesh's influential garment industry, which helps the country earn $25 billion annually and mainly exports to the U.S. and Europe. But Dhaka has long lobbied to have duty-free access to the U.S., and the lost status was seen as a big blow to that goal.