Bangladesh needs to prepare to grab bigger chunk of EU market: Expert

Non-garment sectors should also be more compliant to grab more of the EU market under the new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) regime, which will come into force from 2024 and continue until 2034, he said.

Bangladesh needs preparation for grabbing a bigger slice of the EU export market as China may lose 8-10 per cent of its share within the next few years, according to MA Razzaque, research director of the Policy Research Institute. Non-garment sectors should also be more compliant to grab more of the EU market under the new GSP regime, he said.

The country should comply with the EU’s new GSP, which requires improving human rights, labour rights and protecting the environment, he said.

Razzaque was speaking at a virtual discussion, titled ‘Towards a Transformed and Revitalised Trade and Economic Partnership with the EU’, jointly organised by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Research and Policy Integration for Development.

Bangladesh has already been enjoying the benefits of global geopolitical changes as the country is receiving more work orders, particularly in the garment sector, senior commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh was quoted as saying by Bangladeshi media reports.

Bangladesh’s exports to the United States crossed $10 billion for the first time in the last fiscal, when the industry registered 60 per cent growth, Ghosh said.

While Bangladesh’s exports to the US are growing, the shipment of goods from other countries to the same market is showing a negative trend, he added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)