Duty benefit won’t vanish overnight

Duty-free and quota-free access for Bangladesh’s exports will not come to a screeching halt the moment the country graduates from the least developed country bracket, said an expert yesterday.

“There is hope,” said Zahid Hussain, lead economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office, at a session on Bangladesh’s transition from LDC status at the Bangladesh Development Forum that ended yesterday.

There are non-LDCs who get LDC benefits and there are LDCs who do not get LDC benefits, he said.

“My point is there are other factors that are also at work,” Hussain said at the event organised by the finance ministry at the capital’s Sonargaon hotel.

Bilateral negotiations with trading partners, particularly with the EU and Canada, can limit the loss of preferential market access.

“What we need is proactive efforts in growing our negotiating capacity.”

He called upon policymakers to investigate the impact on Bangladesh for transitioning from LDCs such that troubles and concerns can be raised exact in negotiations during the transition period.

The country’s exports may additionally face an expand in tariffs in the markets the place its products get duty-free and quota-free get right of entry to at present.

This may additionally put 5.5-7.5 percent of Bangladesh’s exports at risk, he stated citing estimates by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

So, there are challenges but there are also opportunities, Hussain said.

“And we can also renegotiate some of the provisos that currently exist which we do now not like,” he stated citing the Rules of Origin as a case in point.

His comment got here as a United Nations panel, the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), is predicted to put Bangladesh on its commencement list this 12 months as the united states of america meets all three criteria: Gross National Income per capita, Human Assets Index and Economic Vulnerability Index.

The CDP will overview Bangladesh’s development in 2021, and after a three-year transition period, respectable commencement from the LDC category will take place.

Hussain said Bangladesh graduate with momentum.

“We have to capitalise on the demographic dividend,” he said, whilst calling for building human capital via health, schooling and skills, increased funding and innovation-enabling reforms. Ahsan H Mansur, govt director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, said the u . s . desires to begin its homework now.

“We have to overcome the market get admission to issue. We have to negotiate,” he said, adding that Vietnam did nicely in negotiating exchange agreements with countries such as the US.

He additionally emphasised improving effectivity at all stages and the competencies of workers. In a paper on LDC transition, Economic Relations Division’s Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam stated international support will gradually be withdrawn as soon as Bangladesh strikes out of the LDC crew by way of 2024.

“Graduation will have have an impact on on Official Development Assistance,” he said, including that a debt administration approach would be required. The cross into the developing usa bracket will additionally open up possibilities for south-south trade.

“Non-LDC specific Generalised System of Preferences scheme will open new home windows of cooperation with creating countries.”

Reporting necessities and consultative efforts could be a proper chance for world support, he added.

Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation’s Regional Representative for South Asia Van Berkel Cornelius Wilhelmus Maria, and Commerce Secretary of Bangladesh Shubhashish Bose additionally spoke.