Trade experts on Monday stressed the need for export diversification and investment for Bangladesh for facing challenges of graduation, saying that the country would lose some trade benefits and would have to take more responsibilities following its graduation to a developing country from the least developed country.‘Looking forward to graduation, it will be important to further diversify your export base and look for strategies to ensure that your exports are not disrupted because of the loss of trade preferences,’ World Trade Organisation LDC subcommittee chair Monique Van Daalen said at a dialogue on current debates at the WTO and the LDC concerns.Centre for Policy dialogue organised the dialogue at BRAC Centre Inn in capital Dhaka.Van Daalen suggested that Bangladesh would have to prepare itself and it should address the obstacles to export growth and investment.Citing the increasing trade deficit of least developed countries, she said that it was clear that further efforts were needed to strengthen LDC’s productive capacity in manufacturing and service to diversify its export base.‘The sub-committee provides a good forum to the LDCs to discuss graduation in terms of challenges and support required,’ Van Daalen said.In the current context of global trade tension the WTO would have to stand ready to support LDCs, she added.CPD distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman said that package of support should extend to LDCs which were graduating.He said that following the graduation a lot of derogations would take place and the WTO would have to ensure what types of incentives it would extend to Bangladesh.Mustafizur also said that Bangladesh would have to engage with a lot of bilateral and regional negotiations to face the challenges of graduation.Md Munir Chowdhury, director general of WTO Cell under the commerce ministry, demanded special attention to some sectors including pharmaceuticals as trade facilities would go away after graduation.He stressed country specific support for the LDCs which were graduating.Considering the fourth industrial revolution and livelihood of workers especially women, Bangladesh needs extended time for trade privilege under Everything But Arms, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Rubana Huq said.‘We need special consideration as diversification remains as a challenge and we are facing price pressure continuously,’ she said.‘Bangladesh has been highly benefited from the EU’s EBA being an LDC, but we did not get that privilege from the US,’ said Rehman Sobhan, chairman of CPD.He said that Bangladesh was exclusively excluded from the benefit of ‘blind’ generalised system of preferences in the US.However, Bangladesh was benefited from the scrapping of the mega-trade deal, Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, by the current US president, Rehman Sobhan said.
