Economic analysts at an event on Thursday opined that Bangladesh’s export trade heavily depends on effective tariff policies with the United States; the country lags behind its competitors in securing favorable agreements.
They also highlighted that building trust within the government is crucial for achieving long-term stability.
The Centre for Macroeconomic Analysis (CMEA) of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the Australian Government, organised the event to release the July edition of its Monthly Macroeconomic Insights (MMI) at PRI’s conference room.
Dr. Khurshid Alam, Executive Director of PRI, opened the session, noting that revenue remains a key challenge and that reforms, such as separating policymaking from implementation in the NBR, are still a work in progress.
The event was chaired by Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman of PRI, and graced by Dr. Moyeen Khan, Former Minister for Economic Planning; Information & Broadcasting, Science, and Information and Communication Technology of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, as the Chief Guest.
Dr. Khan emphasized that, “Bangladesh’s export trade heavily depends on effective tariff policies with the United States; the country lags behind its competitors in securing favorable agreements.”
He also highlighted that building trust within the government is crucial for achieving long-term stability.
Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman of PRI, and Dr. Ashikur Rahman, Principal Economist at PRI, delivered the keynote presentation.
Delivering the keynote presentation, Dr. Sattar noted that, “Bangladesh’s economy is still investment-driven, not consumption-led.
A slowdown in private credit growth, reduced capital machinery imports, and lower investment, now accounting for around 29% of GDP, are contributing to slower GDP growth, although the macroeconomy remains stable.
He also emphasized that “Bangladesh has been exporting to the US on the basis of comparative advantage in labor-intensive products such as RMG and footwear. Given that the US is a large and expanding market, we need a favorable trade agreement with them. Relying on labor-intensive competitive advantage is no longer sufficient. We need a competitive trade deal because if our competitors obtain better trade terms, our global competitiveness will be undermined. This presents a new and pressing challenge that we have to deal with.”
Dr. Ashikur Rahman underscored that the measures and policies taken to restore good governance in the financial sector will require continuity over the next one to three years.
