LDC graduation can’t be deferred: CA’s special assistant
High level meeting chaired by the CA held
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There is no scope for Bangladesh to defer its LDC graduation, as the plan for LDC graduation has already taken off, said special assistant to the Chief Adviser on finance, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, on Tuesday.
He was briefing the press on the high-level meeting on LDC graduation chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
“One should keep in mind that we are not on the ground; we are flying to the crew side. We were supposed to take off in 2024, but we got extra years due to Covid,” he said, explaining why the country cannot defer the graduation now.
“After reviewing the preparations, we are satisfied that our plane will fly smoothly, we have not seen that much possibility of a crash, and we will be able to reach the crew side by 2026,” Mr Chowdhury, head of the expert committee on LDC graduation, told the press briefing narrating the outcome of the review.
Advisers from finance, commerce, education, planning, environment and education ministry, central bank governor, special assistant to the CA on economic affairs, and BIDA executive chairman were present in the meeting.
“There are no other options now. In today’s meeting we have discussed our preparations in detail. And we have identified our strengths and weaknesses,” “he said.
“There can be pressure on our employment and on the private sector, and we have to take precautions to address these,” he added.
Responding to a question on the possible challenges, he said that building institutional capacity for trade negotiation is the topmost challenge for the post-graduation period.
“To address this, the meeting has decided to immediately set up a separate trade negotiation agency. The chief advisor has instructed the meeting to find out an experienced and capable person to head this trade negotiation body,” he added.
He also said that professionals from government and from the private sector will be incorporated in the proposed negotiation agency, which will be launched within a very short time.
Asked to respond to the demand by different trade bodies to defer the graduation, he said deferment is out of the question now, and all have to understand that the country’s plan of graduation is already in flying mode.
He also argued that many fear losing duty-free market access during the post-graduation period, but already a number of countries have told Bangladesh that they will continue the facility for Bangladesh even after the graduation.
The European Union, a critical market for Bangladesh, has agreed to extend the duty-free facility after the graduation, he reminded, adding that Australia and Japan have said the same.
“And during the recent investment summit, the United Kingdom mentioned they will provide us with the duty-free facility even after the graduation,” he said, pointing out that the deferment is not necessary.
In this connection he said that poorer countries like Bhutan and Samoa have already graduated from the LDC status.
Terming the Trump tariff a major turbulence, he said that efforts have been initiated to address the situation, and the challenges of the US tariff will affect not only Bangladesh but other countries as well.
Regarding the assessment that the country will lose 10 billion dollars in export earnings after graduation, he said that this figure was based on static data because this does not include the perspective that many of the major importers will continue to extend duty-free facilities.
Responding to a question on managing the impact of graduation on foreign aid, as Bangladesh will be deprived of the concessional loan during the post-graduation period, he said dependence on aid is a colonial hangover and Bangladesh needs to get out of this.
He mentioned that due to this dependency on foreign aid, the country’s tax-GDP ratio could not be raised.
Due to the aid spree initiated after 2010, the tax GDP ratio has reduced from 10 per cent in 2010 to 6 per cent, he said domestic resource mobilisation must be enhanced to ensure sustainable development.
Asked about the advantages of graduation, he said that it will help attract foreign investment and help fulfil the dream of turning the country into a manufacturing hub.