Bangladesh Pushed by U.S. to Protect Factory Workers

The Obama administration is pressing Bangladesh to do more to strengthen worker-safety standards as a condition for restoring U.S. trade preferences that were suspended after a deadly garment factory collapse in April.

The U.S. government yesterday made public the steps that the Bangladeshi government needs to take to win restoration of benefits on $34.7 million in goods from the Asian nation. Measures called for by the U.S. include increasing the number of labor, fire and building inspectors and creating hotlines for workers to anonymously report safety and rights violations.