CPD: Bangladesh must focus on investment, export diversification
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Bangladesh must concentrate on increasing investment and diversification of export goods beyond the apparel sector, instead of wasting time counting loss and benefits of graduation from LDC to a developing country, said Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) distinguished Fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya.
He made the remark while speaking at a policy dialogue titled ‘Current Debates at the WTO and the LDC Concerns’ organized by CPD at the BRAC Centre Inn in the capital on Monday.
Debapriya said: “Instead of thinking about the trade benefits or loss after the graduation from LDC, Bangladesh has to concentrate on increasing investment and diversification of export. Transparency and proper planning are essential for this."
“Bangladesh’s graduation to a developing country from an LDC is a landmark success in the contemporary development experience. Bangladesh is graduating with a large population, sizeable economy, exports and progress in poverty alleviation – the first LDC to meet all three criteria at the time of graduation," he mentioned.
Monique Van Daalen, chair of LDC Sub-Committee, WTO, Geneva, said: “Looking forward to graduation, it will be important to further diversify your export base and look for strategies to ensure that your exports are not disrupted because of the loss of trade preferences."
She also said: “So, while there has been an upward trend in LDC trade in the last two years, it is clear that further efforts are needed to strengthen your productive capacity in manufacturing and services, to diversify your export base and to further enhance your market access.”
Professor Rehman Sobhan, chairman of CPD, Rubana Huq, president of BGMEA, Mahbub Uz Zaman, secretary-bilateral (Asia and Pacific) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Md Munir Chowdhury, director general of WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce, Taufiqur Rahman, head of LDC Unit, Development Division, WTO, Geneva, and Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD, were present at the dialogue.
The Committee for Development Policy, a UN panel, on March 16, 2018 announced Bangladesh’s eligibility for the developing country category as it met the three prerequisite criteria in terms of National Income per Capita, Human Assets Index, and Economic Vulnerability Index.
But the country will have to pass two more reviews in 2021 and 2024 to get rid of the Least Developed Country (LDC) tag. Upon its promotion, Bangladesh will get three more years’ grace period after which it will lose the trade facilities it enjoys as an LDC.
As an LDC, Bangladesh enjoys duty-free access to the European Union and some other countries. However, once a developing nation, it will not be eligible for duty- and quota-free facilities and preferential market access.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com