Refayet Ullah Mirdha

97 percent of Bangladeshi goods to get preferential access

Factories run below capacity while new plants await gas, casting doubt over investment, employment

Bangladesh and South Korea are set to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Dhaka on Tuesday, as the country steps up efforts to secure duty-free market access ahead of its graduation from the least developed country club.

The government yesterday set a merchandise export target of $55.2 billion and a services export target of $8.2 billion for fiscal year 2026-27. Economists and business leaders said achieving the targets would be difficult amid an uncertain global environment and persistent domestic constraints.

The country’s sluggish garment exports are unlikely to recover in the coming months as the war in the Gulf drives up energy costs, feeds inflation in key Western markets and leaves retailers with more unsold stock, according to exporters and major international buyers.

The US has imposed a 10 percent tariff on imports from Bangladesh along with 17 other countries, as the countries have not done enough to prevent the import of raw materials produced using forced labour.

Foreign ministry says Dhaka has been placed in the lower tariff tier

Bangladesh’s apparel exporters are facing fresh uncertainty over the textile clause in the Bangladesh-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), after leading US textile trade bodies argued that the mechanism is unlikely to achieve American industrial goals and called for an alternative framework.

Bangladesh is pursuing a dual-track strategy to retain duty-free access to the European Union after graduating from the least developed country (LDC) category, negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the bloc while also seeking to qualify for its GSP Plus trade preference scheme.

When China widened duty-free access to 97 percent of Bangladeshi products in 2020 and later extended the concession to almost all goods in 2024, it appeared to offer Bangladesh a rare opening.

Swedish retail giant H&M has said Bangladesh remains “a very important sourcing market”, amid media reports suggesting it may reduce purchases from the country.

Jerseys manufactured in Bangladesh were worn by the Cape Verde national team during their World Cup debut match against Spain

Although a Bangladeshi team is not taking part in the FIFA World Cup 2026, products “made in Bangladesh” have still made their way to football’s biggest stage.

Bangladesh is preparing a formal response to the USTR’s claim that the country has failed to prevent imports of goods made with forced labour, in a bid to avoid a proposed 10 percent tariff on its exports to the United States.

Although the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 offers some measures that are aligned with the government’s Smooth Transition Strategy (STS) for LDC graduation, it lacks a dedicated framework with preparations for this watershed moment, which is due in November, experts said.

The government has proposed withdrawing source tax on the import of 60 essential commodities, aiming to improve the standard of living of every individual and family in the country

The government has proposed the complete withdrawal of import duty on 51 new raw materials used in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to make medicines more affordable for consumers in the domestic marke

Once implemented, the international airports in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet will gradually be upgraded into full-fledged logistics hubs, which will significantly expand the e-commerce sector

After a long period of closure, the government has also restarted the process of reopening labour markets in Malaysia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, the finance minister said during his budget speech today

The government also proposed exempting 100 percent export-oriented compliant garment factories from mandatory annual bond audits