Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Bangladesh should intensify efforts to penetrate new markets across Asia and the Pacific, promote trade openness, create right conditions for foreign direct investment (FDI) and rationalise tariff structures to pave the way for free-trade agreements (FTAs) to tackle unfolding challenges.
The suggestions came from a cutting-edge meet Saturday that also emphasised the importance of integrating into regional value chains (RVCs) and strengthening trade in intermediate goods-an area where Bangladesh still lags behind many of its peers in the region.
Dr Zaidi Sattar, Chairman of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), made these observations while delivering the keynote address at the seminar titled 'Trade Policy Challenges in an Age of Economic Turbulence and the Bangladesh Scenario', held at the Syndicate Hall of North South University (NSU).
He forewarns that US reciprocal tariffs could significantly disrupt global trade dynamics and intensify competition for Bangladeshi businesses. "Without comprehensive trade negotiations and reforms, our exports will suffer from reduced competitiveness," Dr Sattar told the audience.
He notes that the U.S. tariffs imposed under the Trump administration were being criticized even by US economists.
"Many American economists themselves criticised those tariffs, arguing that they distort global trade and ultimately harm business sentiment worldwide."
The seminar was organised by Economics Research Platform (ERP), a faculty-student initiative at NSU that focuses on business and economic research.
Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Mr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury attended the event as the chief guest. NSU Vice-chancellor Prof Dr Abdul Hannan Chowdhury chaired the session, while the discussion was moderated by ERP Director and Professor of Economics Dr AKM Atiqur Rahman.
A distinguished panel of experts participated in the discussion, including Kamran T. Rahman, president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dr Selim Raihan, Executive Director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Dr Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), and Dr M. Ismail Hossain, Professor of Economics at NSU.
Dr Selim Raihan stressed the need for a comprehensive and unified trade policy.
"Bangladesh currently operates with separate export and import policies, which serve as de facto trade policy."
This fragmented approach is no longer effective, he said.
He also points out that despite gradual tariff reductions over the past two decades, the country still maintains relatively high import duties compared to regional competitors like Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations.
Dr Raihan advocates for institutional reforms, restructuring export policies, and proactive negotiations with the United States and other key partners to address reciprocal tariff concerns.
The MCCI President, Kamran T. Rahman, highlighted Bangladesh's alarmingly low tax-to-GDP ratio, one of the lowest in South Asia.
"This reflects a broader weakness in our economic structure," he said, adding that tax compliance remains poor while tax authorities continue to exert pressure on a limited number of regular taxpayers, often subjecting them to bureaucratic hassles.
jasimharoon@yahoo.com and nsrafsanju@gmail.com