The United States yesterday signed a trade deal with Taiwan, with the latter agreeing to remove or reduce 99 per cent of its tariff barriers, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

Taiwanese exports to the United States will be taxed 15 per cent, the US government’s ‘most favoured nation’ rate, the USTR office said.

The US yesterday signed a trade deal with Taiwan, with the latter agreeing to remove or reduce 99 per cent of its tariff barriers, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
Taiwanese exports to the US will be taxed 15 per cent, the US government’s ‘most favoured nation’ rate.
Taiwan will make investments of $250 billion in US industries like computer chips, AI applications and energy.

The rate is equal to that levied on other US trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

USTR Jamieson Greer attended the signing of the reciprocal agreement, which occurred under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. Taiwan’s Vice Premier Lichiun Cheng and its Government Minister Jen-ni Yang also attended the signing.

Under the deal, Taiwan will make investments of $250 billion in US industries like computer chips, artificial intelligence applications and energy. Taiwan will provide up to an additional $250 billion in credit guarantees to help smaller businesses invest in the United States.

“The Agreement on Reciprocal Trade with Taiwan will eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers facing US exports to Taiwan, furthering opportunities for American farmers, ranchers, fishermen, workers, small businesses and manufacturers. This Agreement also builds on our longstanding economic and trade relationship with Taiwan and will significantly enhance the resilience of our supply chains, particularly in high-technology sectors,” Greer said in a USTR release.

The United States said the deal would help create several ‘world-class’ industrial parks in America to help build up domestic manufacturing of advanced technologies.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

Eddie Bauer LLC (the “Retail Company”), operator of Eddie Bauer stores in the United States and Canada and a licensee of the Eddie Bauer brand, today announced that it has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (“RSA”) with the Retail Company’s secured lenders and commenced voluntary chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey (the “Court”).

The RSA is designed to enable the Retail Company to move through the chapter 11 process as quickly and efficiently as possible. Through the RSA and the chapter 11 proceedings, the Retail Company will conduct liquidation sales at its stores while continuing to pursue an ongoing sale process to conduct an expeditious, value-maximizing going concern sale of all or part of its store operations. In the event of a sale, the Retail Company may depart from a full wind down of operations to facilitate a going-concern transaction. The Retail Company believes this dual-path process will best maximize value for all stakeholders.

Eddie Bauer’s retail operator has filed for Chapter 11 after signing a restructuring deal with secured lenders, launching liquidation sales while seeking a going-concern buyer for all or part of its stores.
Shops in the US and Canada will stay open during the process, while e-commerce and wholesale operations run separately and remain unaffected.

The Retail Company’s retail and outlet stores in the United States and Canada will remain open and continue serving customers as the Retail Company begins its process of winding down certain stores. The Retail Company’s e-commerce and wholesale operations are not impacted by the wind down, as they are operated by a separate licensed operator, Outdoor 5, LLC (Oved), and will continue to operate as usual. Authentic Brands Group continues to own the intellectual property associated with the Eddie Bauer brand and may license the brand to other operators. The operations of other brands in the Catalyst Brands portfolio are not affected by this filing and will continue in the normal course.

The Retail Company has filed customary motions with the Court seeking a variety of “first-day” relief, including approval of the consensual use of cash collateral to pay employee wages and benefits in the ordinary course of business and otherwise fund operations through the chapter 11 process.

Marc Rosen, CEO of Catalyst Brands, said, “Even prior to the inception of Catalyst Brands last year, the Retail Company was in a challenged situation, with declining sales, supply chain challenges and other issues. Over the past year, these challenges have been exacerbated by various headwinds, including increased costs of doing business due to inflation, ongoing tariff uncertainty, and other factors. While the leadership team at Catalyst was able to make significant strides in the brand, including rapid improvements in product development and marketing, those changes could not be implemented fast enough to fully address the challenges created over several years.”

Rosen continued, “The Retail Company has evaluated all options and taken actions to best position the Retail Company for the future, including transitioning the Retail Company’s e-commerce and wholesale operations to Outdoor 5 LLC. After careful deliberation, the Retail Company has made the difficult decision to file under chapter 11 to implement a court-supervised sale process and solicit a going concern transaction. If the Retail Company is unable to come to such an arrangement, we will commence an orderly wind down of the Retail Company’s store operations.”

Rosen concluded, “This is not an easy decision, and we are grateful to the Retail Company’s associates and customers for their loyalty and trust. We are working to minimize the impact on the Retail Company’s employees, vendors, customers and other stakeholders. However, this restructuring is the best way to optimize value for the Retail Company’s stakeholders and also ensure Catalyst Brands remains profitable and with strong liquidity and cashflow.”

Eddie Bauer’s retail store locations outside of the United States and Canada are operated by other licensees, are not included in the chapter 11 filings, and will continue operating in the ordinary course.

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)

The United States and Bangladesh have signed a Reciprocal Tariff Agreement, lowering US tariffs on Bangladeshi exports to 19 per cent and offering zero-duty access for select textile and apparel products made using US cotton and man-made fibres.

Signed in Dhaka by Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin, NSA Khalilur Rahman and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the deal follows nine months of negotiations.

The US–Bangladesh reciprocal tariff agreement cuts duties to 19 per cent, easing pressure on exporters after months of uncertainty.
Zero-duty access for select garments using US inputs strengthens Bangladesh’s competitiveness in its biggest market.
The move is expected to stabilise jobs, support margins, and reinforce the country’s role in global apparel supply chains.

“The reduction of reciprocal tariff will grant further advantage to our exporters, while zero reciprocal tariff on specific textile and apparel exports from Bangladesh using US inputs will give substantial added impetus to our garments sector,” said NSA Rahman who was Bangladesh’s chief negotiator.

The tariff cut marks a sharp reduction from the initially proposed 37 per cent in April last year and the interim 20 per cent agreed in August. US officials praised Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus for steering the talks, while Bangladesh termed the pact a historic upgrade in bilateral trade ties.

Rahman said the lower tariffs and duty-free access would give fresh momentum to the garments sector, Bangladesh’s largest export industry, which accounts for over 80 per cent of export earnings and employs nearly four million workers. The agreement, approved by Bangladesh’s Council of Advisers, will come into force once formal notifications are issued.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)