DHAKA, April 17, 2025 (BSS) – Economists at a dialogue here today laid emphasis on signing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States (US) for a long-term solution of Bangladesh’s trade growth.

“Many believe such a deal may not be possible, but that is not the case, as everything depends on negotiation,” said Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Professor Mustafizur Rahman.

He said this while speaking at the dialogue titled “Trump Reciprocal Tariffs and Bangladesh: Implications and Response”, organised by CPD at a hotel in the city.

Mustafizur Rahman said that the US has signed bilateral FTAs with a number of developing countries such as Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Bahrain, Jordan, and others.

The process and experience of these FTAs need to be carefully studied, he added.

He said issues of non-reciprocal treatment and differential timelines of implementation of the trade liberalisation plan will need to be negotiated with due caution.

He pointed out that Bangladesh will need to undertake major reforms as it prepares to graduate from the least developed country (LDC) group.

"Those same reforms will be useful if Bangladesh moves forward with an FTA negotiation with the US," he added.  

Mustafizur Rahman urged the authorities concerned to attract more investment from the USA that will help to reduce the bilateral deficit and to take advantage of the value of content requirement in the US Presidential Executive Order.

In this backdrop, Bangladesh will need to undertake proactive measures to address FDI from the USA, as also from other countries, he added.

He said Bangladesh has bound only 17 percent tariff lines in the WTO, at the very high bound rate of 155 percent.

“Bangladesh should take initiative to bind other tariff lines with realistically set bound tariff rates in consideration of the prevailing applied tariff rates,” he added.

In view of the emerging volatilities in global trade, he said, Bangladesh must proactively pursue avenues of regional cooperation like BIMSTEC towards market and product diversification.

“Opportunities of FTAs and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) will need to be actively explored. Need to strengthen negotiating capacity,” he added.

Among others, CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan, Former President BKMEA and Managing Director of Plummy Fashions Ltd Md Fazlul Hoque, Trade specialist and former Member of Bangladesh Tariff and Trade Commission Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, Chief Executive Officer of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited Bangladesh Md Mahbub ur Rahman, President of the Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and DCCI Former President Shams Mahmud  and Member of the Commission on Labour Rights and President of the Bangladesh Garments Sramik Sanghati  Taslima Akter Lima spoke on the occasion.

Executive Director of CPD Dr Fahmida Khatun presided over it.