Dhaka: Experts at a conference today laid emphasis on engaging proactively with the European Union (EU) to secure enhanced GSP+ benefits, including duty-free access for garments. They urged the authorities concerned to establish WTO-compatible export support mechanisms for providing support to the exporters in a compliant way.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the call was made at the inaugural session of the conference titled ‘Strategic Policy Realignment to Boost Investment and Achieve Export Diversification’ at the BRAC Centre Inn Auditorium in the city. The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organized the two-day conference on ‘Recommendations by the Task Force on Re-Strategizing the Economy’. Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin attended the session as the chief guest, while former Commerce Minister and Chairman of the Sarina Group Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan attended as special guests.
Distinguished discussants included CPD Distinguished Fellow Professor Mus
tafizur Rahman, President of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Zaved Akhtar, Deputy Managing Director of Picard Bangladesh Limited Amrita Islam, and Team Group Managing Director Abdullah Hill Rakib. Chairman of the Taskforce on Re-strategizing the Economy Dr KAS Murshid presided over the session, while members of the Taskforce, Dr Selim Raihan and Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, delivered keynote speeches.
In his speech, Sk Bashir Uddin highlighted the widespread corruption and money laundering in the banking sector and infrastructure development during the previous government’s tenure, which had put significant pressure on the macro-economy. He underscored the need for diversification of the country’s exports and increasing skilled workforce to strengthen the economy. “The entire economy of the country was corrupted in the past. Unnecessary projects and money laundering have caused great damage to the economy of this country. Corruption has occurred in the banking sector and various in
frastructure construction projects,” he said.
Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury emphasized addressing macro-economic issues to strengthen the country’s economy. He stressed that revenue should come from large-scale businesses in a developed private sector, not from VAT and other regulatory duties. He also warned that without import liberalization, export incentives would not push exports beyond a certain limit.
Dr Mustafizur Rahman highlighted two contrasting examples of import liberalization-Singapore and Haiti. “While Singapore has strong export and institutional capacity, making liberal imports beneficial to its economy, Haiti presents the opposite scenario,” he added. He noted that Bangladesh faces significant institutional capacity gaps in areas like revenue collection, policy formulation, and implementation.
Dr Selim Raihan, Executive Director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), pointed out Bangladesh’s lack of diversification in industry and exports. He identified three pathways to e
xport and industrial diversification: diversifying garments exports, exploring labor-intensive non-readymade garments, and moving into complex skill-intensive exports.
Economist Dr. Razzaque, Chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), noted that the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh has benefited from duty-free access to global markets, but this will no longer be available after LDC graduation. He emphasized the urgent need to negotiate with the European Union to maintain this benefit even after December 2027.
Dr Razzaque also pointed out Bangladesh’s failure to establish bilateral free trade agreements and called for swift action to sign an FTA with Japan. He highlighted that 75 percent of Bangladesh’s total exports depend on LDC benefits, which will no longer be available after graduation. He focused on securing an FTA with Japan to enhance Bangladesh’s trade policy credibility and urged the government to establish a ‘Chief Trade Negotiators Office’ to manage nego
tiations, coordinate policies, and develop capacity.