Govt utilising full capacity to overcome lacking in trade initiatives: Adviser Bashir

The interim government has been utilising its full capacity and taking all necessary measures so there is no lack in trade initiatives considering the country's smooth LDC graduation, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin said today (15 March).

"I can say that through utilising our full capacity, we're taking all necessary measures so that there is no lack of trade initiatives and capacity, including our Smooth Transition Strategy [STS]. We're working on keeping ahead all related aspects on the whole," he said.

The commerce adviser said this in an interview with the national news agency BSS on the overall aspects of the country's move towards signing different trade deals like Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with various countries amid Bangladesh's LDC graduation in 2026.

He said the Ministry of Commerce's FTA Wing, WTO Wing and Export Wing have been working relentlessly in a concerted way. "I'm also discussing with the concerned stakeholders, economists and think tanks to understand these matters, visited Korea and Japan and also had meetings with their trade advisers," he added.

The commerce adviser said negotiations on deals like FTA and PTA are not much easy as bilateral interests are associated with these.

Bashir, however, said that they are making the necessary preparations which were supposed to be taken over the last five years, but that time was utterly wasted and the economy was forced to fall into a crisis.

Mentioning that the current interim government has been working tirelessly to this end through holding meetings with various stakeholders, he said, "If we make trade liberalization, then we have to consider local investments in a sensitive way as well as not to do anything without considering the consequences."

The commerce adviser said that after the country's LDC graduation in November, 2026, Bangladesh is poised to lose its preferential trade benefits as an LDC country.

"We earlier got five years of time, but unfortunately we wasted that time," he said.

Referring to the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan on 6 December 2020, which came into effect on 1 July 2022, Bashir said Bangladesh signed the deal only just in papers.

"If I say that was absolutely bogus, that won't be wrong. Because, after that, the trade volume with Bhutan had reduced while there was nothing new in that except the title PTA," he added.

He said it was done with a PTA headline in same tariff structure.

Subsequently, the Commerce Adviser said, when they took over the government, dealing with PTAs and FTAs, has become a big task in the international arena.

He said the country's exports usually totals $50 billion plus annually against the imports of $70 billion to $90 billion depending on the market price. "We want to go towards liberalized trade as we not only want to support export, but also we want to import at competitive prices as our imports are a reality," he added.

Bashir said the country witnesses such a huge amount of $150 billion trade volume and it is the question how the government would continue to facilitate it. 

"For this, we need to streamline tariff structure, customs duty and facilitate investments as local investments and FDI are the only way to create unending opportunities for employments in the economy," he said.

He went on saying, "So, we're thriving how to create investment-friendly environment in the country while the entire gamut of issues are being addressed at FTA, PTA, EPA and CEPA."

Perceiving these issues theoretically and also perceiving the economic characteristics in full scale and at the same time the change in the path and trend in global trade, Bashir said the government wants to move forward with thorough knowledge.

"But, unfortunately, over the last few years, there were no thoughts and planning while there was no space for minimum responsibility. But, now when we're vying for a liberalized economy in 2026, the local investments can fall into serious risk," he noted.

According to officials, economists and business leaders, talks on preferential trade deals with a dozen countries are yet to see significant progress since the political changeover in August last year, potentially adding to the challenges related to Bangladesh's graduation from the club of LDCs in 2026.

Under the interim government, which assumed office in August last year, authorities have only made progress in negotiating EPAs with Japan and South Korea.

However, negotiations to sign trade deals with other countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and Turkey, are yet to get a momentum.

After graduation from LDC status, scheduled for November next year, Bangladeshi exports will no longer be eligible for many preferential market benefits. However, bilateral trade deals could help retain these benefits even after graduation.

To prepare for graduation and ensure a smooth transition, the commerce ministry has been attempting to negotiate bilateral trade agreements, including FTAs, PTAs, EPAs, and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs), with several countries and blocs.

Currently, Bangladesh also enjoys trade benefits from the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA).