Written by The Banking Post
The government is seeking a three-year deferment of Bangladesh’s graduation from least-developed country (LDC) status, amid concerns from businesses over losing preferential export facilities during a fragile economic period.
Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said Tuesday that efforts were underway to place a formal request with the UN, though he cautioned that prospects for success were limited. “If we can defer LDC graduation by three years, it will be very favourable for our economy,” he told a workshop on reciprocal US tariffs and LDC graduation in Dhaka.
Rahman said Bangladesh is consulting experts and stakeholders to prepare documents for submission to the UN General Assembly. But he warned that some competitor countries — including Japan, Turkey, India and the United States — had opposed similar moves in the past, making a new resolution difficult. “We are doing this quietly so as not to provoke resistance,” he added.
Bangladesh met all three UN criteria for graduation — per capita income, human asset index and economic vulnerability — but business leaders say a delay is needed to safeguard export privileges as investment slows and global trade tensions rise.
RAPID Chairman M A Razzaque said winning a deferment would require “complex and intensive” diplomacy. He also projected that Bangladesh’s exports to the US could drop by $1.25 billion, including $1.08 billion in garments, if reciprocal tariffs and global headwinds persist.
ERF President Doulot Akter Mala urged building a pool of trade experts, including economic journalists, to help the country navigate the transition.
