Trade Compliance Center

BANGLADESH TRADE POLICY REVIEW SUMMARY - 2000

PRESS RELEASE

PRESS/TPRB/132

1 May 2000

Bangladesh should continue trade liberalization and carry out major structural reforms.

A new WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies of Bangladesh says

that it has made considerable progress in reducing tariffs and quantitative

restrictions on imports. While maintaining its liberal investment regime,

Bangladesh should carry out further structural reforms in order to reap the

full benefits from its trade liberalisation. Access in export markets are

undoubtedly obstacles to Bangladesh's economic development; however,

the main obstacles are home-grown.

The WTO Secretariat report, along with a policy statement by the

Government of Bangladesh, will serve as a basis for the trade policy review

of Bangladesh that will take place on 2 and 4 May 2000 in the Trade Policy

Review Body of the WTO.

The report also notes that in the face of severe political difficulties and

civil unrest, the government of Bangladesh seems to have lost its impetus

for structural reforms. Moreover, devastating floods, combined with

infrastructural failings such as power shortages, inadequate port facilities

and insufficient energy supplies, led to a sharp drop in export growth -

from 17.1% in 1997/98 to 2.9% in 1998/99.

The report says that textiles, and particularly clothing, have dominated

Bangladesh's exports, with their combined share growing from 70.4% in

1992 to 83.5% in 1998. These exports have been a principal source of

Bangladesh's economic growth in the 1990s. The exports are destined

mostly for the U.S. and European Union markets, to which Bangladesh has

privileged access. The report notes that such heavy dependence on a

limited number of products makes the Bangladesh economy vulnerable to

increased competition from other Asian countries that produce

labour-intensive garments, as these countries recover from the recent

economic crisis with substantially depreciated currencies. Moreover, the

phasing out of preferential access to these markets and the full integration

of all textile and clothing products into the GATT 1994, scheduled for 1

January 2005, will require Bangladeshi ready-made garments exporters to

increase efficiency and improve product quality.

The report notes that since 1992, Bangladesh has continued making

efforts to simplify and rationalize its trade regime. The customs tariff is

now Bangladesh's main trade policy instrument. Nominal applied

most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariffs have fallen by more than half, from an

average of 58% in 1992/93 to 22% in 1999/2000. The tariff is also the

Government's principal source of revenue, accounting for nearly one-third

of total taxes. The number of trade-related quantitative restrictions has

also been reduced. The report states, however, that the regime still lacks

transparency in its application of certain trade and trade-related measures

such as customs administration, tariff concessions, other border charges,

subsidies and other assistance and the regulatory framework. Such lack of

transparency allows considerable scope for administrative discretion, and

even corruption, which in turn increases the uncertainty and costs of

trade with and doing business in Bangladesh.

Despite a sharp reduction, the report says, tariff protection is still high and

applied rates vary widely. Bangladesh's applied MFN tariff is characterized

by escalation, with tariffs on raw materials lower than those on

semi-processed and fully processed goods. In comparison to the tariff

structure in 1992/93, that of 1999/2000 is much more clearly

characterized by protection to domestic manufacturers, who can import

raw materials at relatively low duty rates, and, after adding domestic

value, are protected by relatively high tariffs on import of finished goods.

The report states that the ready-made garment sector, Bangladesh's

largest exports, has flourished because it has been insulated from the

tariff regime.

On the investment front, the report notes, Bangladesh maintains one of

the most liberal regimes in South Asia with few limitation on foreign equity

participation and offers immense opportunities such as a relatively cheap

and abundant labour. According to estimates by the World Bank, annual

foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh, quadrupled from US$83

million in 1994/95 to US$386 million in 1997/98, with the bulk of FDI going

to the gas sector, due to its considerable reserves. However, FDI in other

areas has been discouraged by inadequate basic infrastructure, slow pace

of privatisation, an inefficient financial system and a generally uncertain

political climate. Thus, the report states, the cost of doing business in

Bangladesh is unnecessarily high and impairs the competitiveness of firms

operating there, both domestic and foreign. Furthermore, with the

Government's decision to open up infrastructure and other services to

private domestic and foreign investment, Bangladesh could enhance

investor confidence by binding its market access within the GATS.

Notes to Editors

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements,

in which member countries' trade and related policies are examined and

evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments which may have

an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each

review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the

government of the member under review, and a detailed report written

independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then

discussed by the WTO's full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body

(TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB's meetings are

published shortly afterwards. Since 1995, when the WTO came into force,

services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights have also

been covered.

For this review, the WTO's Secretariat report, together with the policy

statement prepared by Bangladesh, will be discussed by the Trade Policy

Review Body on 2 and 4 May 2000. The Secretariat report covers the

development of all aspects of Bangladesh's trade policies, including

domestic laws and regulations, the institutional framework, trade policies

by measure and by sector.

Attached to this press release is a summary of the observations in the

Secretariat report and parts of the government's policy statement. The

Secretariat report and the government's policy statement are available for

the press in the newsroom of the WTO internet site (www.wto.org). These

two documents and the minutes of the TPRB's discussion and the

Chairman's summing up, will be published in hardback in due course and will

be available from the Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de

Lausanne, 1211 Geneva 21.

Since December 1989, the following reports have been completed: Argentina (1992 and 1999), Australia (1989, 1994 and 1998), Austria (1992), Bangladesh (1992), Benin (1997), Bolivia (1993 and 1999), Botswana (1998), Brazil (1992 and 1996), Burkina Faso (1998), Cameroon (1995), Canada (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1998), Chile (1991 and 1997), Colombia (1990 and 1996), Costa Rica (1995), C?te d'Ivoire (1995), Cyprus (1997), the Czech Republic (1996), the Dominican Republic (1996), Egypt (1992 and 1999), El Salvador (1996), the European Communities (1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997), Fiji (1997), Finland (1992), Ghana (1992), Guinea (1999), Hong Kong (1990, 1994 and 1998), Hungary (1991 and 1998), Iceland (1994 and 2000), India (1993 and 1998), Indonesia (1991, 1994 and 1998), Israel (1994 and 1999), Jamaica (1998), Japan (1990, 1992, 1995 and 1998), Kenya (1993 and 2000), Korea, Rep. of (1992 and 1996), Lesotho (1998), Macau (1994), Malaysia (1993 and 1997), Mali (1998), Mauritius (1995), Mexico (1993 and 1997), Morocco (1989 and 1996), New Zealand (1990 and 1996), Namibia (1998), Nicaragua (1999), Nigeria (1991 and 1998), Norway (1991 and 1996), Pakistan (1995), Papua New Guinea (1999), Paraguay (1997), Peru (1994), the Philippines (1993), Poland (1993), Romania (1992 and 1999), Senegal (1994), Singapore (1992, 1996 and 2000), Slovak Republic (1995), the Solomon Islands (1998), South Africa (1993 and 1998), Sri Lanka(1995), Swaziland (1998), Sweden (1990 and 1994), Switzerland (1991 and 1996), Tanzania (2000), Thailand (1991, 1995 and 1999), Togo (1999), Trinidad and Tobago (1998), Tunisia (1994), Turkey (1994 and 1998), the United States (1989, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1999), Uganda (1995), Uruguay (1992 and 1998), Venezuela (1996), Zambia (1996) and Zimbabwe (1994).

TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY: BANGLADESH

Report by the Secretariat Summary Observations

Economic Environment

During the early 1990s, Bangladesh made considerable progress in

stabilizing and liberalizing its economy. As a result, inflation was much

lower than previously, and average annual real GDP growth in 1992-98 was

above 5%, largely led by exports involving ready-made garments (RMGs).

Indeed, one of the most striking features of Bangladesh's trade is that

textiles and particularly clothing dominate exports: their combined share

grew from 70.4% in 1992 to 83.5% in 1998; by contrast, jute, which had

previously been Bangladesh's main export, comprising around half of total

exports through the mid-1980s, accounted for only 6% in 1998. This

dramatic change in the composition of exports is the consequence of

Bangladesh's increased integration into the multilateral trading system.

Agriculture still accounts for 30% of GDP while employing 63% of total

labour force. The RMG-dominated manufacturing sector and services,

accounting for 9% and 61% of GDP, respectively, have been the sources

of the economy's growth.

A major development, in March 1994, entailed the liberalization of the

exchange regime for current international transactions. However, an

appreciating real effective exchange rate has threatened to undermine

Bangladesh's export competitiveness, particularly vis-?-vis South-East

Asian garment manufacturers, and therefore constitutes a threat to future

export-led growth.

Whereas annual government expenditure has averaged around 14% of GDP

during the review period, tax revenues have averaged only 7.5%, which is

very low both by international and neighbouring countries' standards. (The

ratio of taxes to GDP is even lower if one includes the underground

economy, which is thought to account for roughly half of GDP.) With other

sources of revenue amounting to approximately 2% of GDP, the outcome is

a persistent central government budget deficit of around 5%. The weak

revenue base jeopardizes the Government's ability to undertake essential

social expenditures on health and education, etc., which would help to

alleviate poverty, and to provide reliable basic infrastructure. The overall

fiscal position of the public sector as a whole (that is, consolidated to

take into account non-financial, state-owned enterprises) is even worse,

owing to weak performance of these enterprises. Their operations are

sustained largely through government-guaranteed borrowing from

state-controlled banks, official external donors, and an accumulation of

domestic and external arrears.

On the structural policy front, the Government has continued to pursue,

inter alia, trade liberalization, financial sector reform, and privatization,

while maintaining in legislative terms one of the most liberal foreign direct

investment (FDI) regimes in South Asia. However, in the face of severe

political difficulties and civil unrest, which manifested themselves in

frequent nationwide strikes ("hartals") costing the country at least 30

working days in 1999 alone, the impetus for structural reform seems to

have waned. Moreover, between 1997/98 and 1998/99, real GDP growth

dropped from 5.3% to 4.2%. This was partly the consequence of a sharp

drop in export growth (from 17.1% to 2.9%), which was initially due to the

devastating floods that covered a third of the country, but exacerbated

by recurrent power shortages, inadequate port facilities, and other

infrastructural bottlenecks, as well as disruptions owing to nationwide

strikes. At the same time, inflation increased owing to a surge in food

prices, again caused by the floods. As the food supply situation improved

and non-food inflation moderated, inflation began to fall.

Unfortunately, real annual GDP growth, averaging around 5% during the

review period, has not been sufficient to make much of a dent in the

poverty that pervades Bangladesh; GDP per capita in 1998/99 was only

US$345, among the lowest in the world. More than one third of

Bangladesh's population of 127 million still lives below the poverty line, and

more than half is classified as poor. Given Bangladesh's high incidence of

poverty, its dense population, and its vulnerability to natural disasters,

including periodic flooding and cyclones, food security is a major policy

objective of the Government. Bangladesh is a large recipient of foreign aid,

a substantial portion of which entails food.

Trade Policy Framework

The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) is responsible for coordinating trade

policy matters through its agencies, as well as in consultation with other

Ministries and governmental bodies; national committees are formed to

address specific issues on trade and industrial development. Private sector

representatives, including business groups and academic institutions, are

consulted in the policy-making process through their participation in the

national committees. A major institutional change involves the upgrading of

the Tariff Commission under the purview of the MOC; the Commission is

now empowered to conduct anti-dumping and countervailing

investigations.

Bangladesh extends most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment to all trading

partners and has taken steps to amend its legislation in the light of its

obligations undertaken in the context of the Uruguay Round, including in

the areas of customs valuation, anti-dumping and countervailing measures,

and protection of intellectual property rights. However, Bangladesh has

found it difficult to meet its WTO notification requirements. Bangladesh is

a leading voice among least-developed Members in the WTO as regards

their specific needs and concerns as well as the difficulties they face.

Trade Policy Measures

Since 1992, Bangladesh has continued to liberalize its trade regime, by,

inter alia, greatly reducing tariffs and eliminating some quantitative

restrictions on imports. It has also considerably increased the

transparency of its trade regime. Nonetheless, the regime is still

characterized by a certain lack of transparency (including ambiguity) as

regards the application of certain trade and trade-related measures

(notably customs administration, tariff concessions, advance income taxes

on imports and exports, import surcharges, subsidies and other assistance,

competition policy, and the regulatory framework). This provides

considerable scope for administrative discretion, and even corruption,

which in turn increases the uncertainty and costs of trading with and

doing business in Bangladesh. At the same time, lack of transparency

distorts market signals that are necessary to ensure an efficient allocation

of resources, preventing Bangladesh from reaping the full benefits from

trade liberalization and what would appear to be one of the most liberal

FDI regimes in South Asia.

The customs tariff is the main instrument of Bangladesh's trade policy. It is

also the Government's principal source of revenue, accounting for nearly

one third of total taxes. During the period under review, Bangladesh has

made considerable efforts to simplify and rationalize the tariff structure by

reducing the number of tariff bands from 15 in 1992/93 to 5 in 1999/2000,

and lowering the maximum tariff rate from 300% to 37.5% during the same

period. While nominal applied MFN tariffs have fallen by more than half,

from an average of 58% in 1992/93 to 22% in 1999/2000, tariff protection

is still high and applied rates vary widely. Thus, the tariff constitutes a

potentially important impediment to competition and therefore an obstacle

to the efficient allocation of domestic resources. At the same time, the

wide dispersion in nominal tariff rates provides considerable scope for

misclassification of imports by customs officials. Moreover, the lack of

bindings and wide gaps between applied and bound rates impart a degree

of unpredictability to the tariff regime. The existence of a number of tariff

concessions, some based on end-use, may require importers to consult

more than one document in order to ascertain the applicable tariff rate,

which adds to the uncertainty and opacity of tariff assessment. Further

protection and unpredictability has arisen because customs valuation has

not always been based on transaction prices; recently, the authorities

have taken steps aimed at bringing customs valuation into line with WTO

norms.

Tariff reform has resulted in a considerable fall in the overall level of

effective protection, and has also reduced the dispersion in effective rates

of protection (ERPs). Nevertheless, ERPs still vary widely across sectors;

the export-oriented textiles and clothing sectors, together with processed

food and tobacco products, are accorded high levels of effective

protection. The RMG sector, has flourished, however, because it has been

insulated from the tariff regime; it has also greatly benefited from

Bangladesh's export promotion measures and preferential access to U.S.

and EU markets.

State involvement in trade has been greatly reduced, and all countertrade

and special trade arrangements have been abolished since the last Review.

However, tariffs are augmented by a multiplicity of other border charges

and, in some instances, the discriminatory application of internal taxes, all

of which are tantamount to tariffs and can raise nominal protection by one

third. While the overall number of banned or restricted import items,

including those for trade and non-trade reasons, has been reduced

considerably, they account for 11.7% of HS 8-digit tariff lines in

1999/2000. Trade-related bans or restrictions remain on agricultural and

textile products.

To mitigate the adverse impact on exporters' competitiveness of high

tariffs, various other charges, and import restrictions, exporters benefit

from an array of measures, including concessional tariffs, a duty drawback

system, special bonded warehouses and export processing zones. As a

result, the trade regime is complex. In addition, direct subsidies are

provided to exporters of textiles and clothing, and were recently extended

to exporters of some other products. Furthermore, tax relief of 50% is

allowed for income generated by exports.

Since its last Review Bangladesh has further opened up many of the

state-dominated sectors to private investment; the sectors include

essential infrastructure, such as telecommunications, power generation,

and transport. While the foreign investment regime is liberal, with no

limitations on foreign equity participation or repatriation of profits, lack of

investment in these and other sectors, has clearly hampered Bangladesh's

economic development.

In an effort to encourage investment, the Government offers a wide range

of open-ended tax incentives, notably tax holidays and accelerated

depreciation. However, the effectiveness of such incentives in attracting

investment is doubtful, particularly in the absence of fiscal transparency,

which would involve a detailed account of tax revenues forgone, and

systematic evaluation of the impact of these incentives in relation to

forgone taxes. The existence of incentives complicates tax administration

and taxpayer compliance, while increasing the scope for tax avoidance and

evasion, both of which are reflected in Bangladesh's low overall level of tax

collection relative to GDP.

Infrastructural Services

Inefficient provision of essential services has constituted a major

impediment to the smooth functioning of the Bangladesh economy. A weak

financial system hampers economic growth, for instance, by restricting

access to the financing of exports and investment. Insufficient and

unreliable telephone connections and energy supplies can disrupt

production of goods and services, while poor transportation and port

services hinder international trade and the domestic distribution of goods.

This lack of reliable basic infrastructure discourages foreign investment in

Bangladesh. Many of these basic infrastructural services have long been

provided by state-owned enterprises, most of which are inefficient and

often loss-making, employ outdated equipment, and are unable to meet

the essential needs of the economy. Thus, the cost of doing business in

Bangladesh is unnecessarily high, which impairs the competitiveness of

firms operating there.

The natural gas and power sectors have attracted large FDI inflows in

recent years and offer great potential to the Bangladesh economy. Given

its considerable reserves, the gas sector could boost industrial and

agricultural production through increased power generation and fertilizer

production, and may eventually offer the opportunity for exports of gas in

various forms. Bangladesh's scarce power generating capacity, which has

impeded the country's production capacity, has been increased by FDI in

the sector.

Despite the Government's decisions to open up infrastructure (and other)

services to private domestic and foreign investment, it has so far failed to

make use of the GATS framework, which could help build investor

confidence with regard to Bangladesh's commitments to liberalization of

state-dominated services. While it has made some commitments in the

tourism and travel-related services and telecommunications, these were

merely a commitment to the status quo.

Outlook

While barriers to access in export markets are undoubtedly obstacles to

Bangladesh's economic development, the main obstacles are home-grown.

Notwithstanding the immense opportunities offered by Bangladesh,

including its relatively cheap and abundant labour, potentially large market,

and one of the most liberal FDI regimes in South Asia, FDI continues to be

discouraged by a number of problems. These include frequent strikes,

inadequate basic infrastructure (notably power, telecommunications and

transportation facilities) and resulting bottlenecks, slow pace of

privatization, an inefficient financial system, an institutional environment

that is bureaucratic and corrupt, political uncertainty, and a worsening law

and order situation. These factors tend to increase the cost of doing

business in Bangladesh, thereby impairing the competitiveness, not just of

foreign-owned enterprises, but also of domestically owned enterprises.

Clearly, there is a pressing need to create the broad political consensus

necessary to address these problems through structural reforms. Such

reforms might usefully include further trade liberalization, although

Bangladesh appears to be reluctant to undertake such reforms because of

what it views as the slower pace of liberalization by some of its main

trading partners.

While Bangladesh has escaped the worst effects of the Asian crisis, the

depreciation of the crisis-hit countries' exchange rates may well mean that

it will face intensified competition from these and other countries,

particularly in respect of labour-intensive RMGs. With textiles and clothing

dominating its exports, and the bulk of those exports going to the

European Union and the United States, there is a need for Bangladesh to

diversify both its export base and export markets. At the same time, the

phasing out of preferential access to these markets and the full integration

of all textile and clothing products into the GATT 1994, scheduled for

1 January 2005, will require Bangladeshi RMG exporters to increase

efficiency, improve product quality, and ensure that their products are

competitively priced.

TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY: BANGLADESH

Report by the Government - Part I and III

I. The Extent of trade liberalization

1. Bangladesh along with other developing countries joined the WTO at the

culmination of the Uruguay Round (UR) in order to avail the advantages of

an open and liberal trading system. This was to strengthen the domestic

production base and competitive position and to, inter alia, avail the

opportunity to negotiate for enhanced market access in major developed

and newly industrialized countries. In Bangladesh, the trade liberalization

process started in the mid 1980s. The Government has since undertaken a

number of bold steps, which include liberalization of the trade and foreign

investment regime, strengthening the financial sectors, legislative and

regulatory framework, closing and privatizing some loss-making

state-owned enterprises (SOEs), adjusting or abolishing some administered

prices, broadening the base of VAT collection and taking steps to improve

governance.

2. In respect of trade liberalization, export diversification and import

liberalization received the highest priority in the earlier years. This

consisted in permitting the exporters of non-traditional items to convert

some of their export earnings at the higher exchange rate in the

secondary market, reduction of the tariff level and tariff dispersion,

simplification and rationalization of the tariff structure, and deregulation of

the import process. The result was reduction of QRs and some tariff cuts

by the mid 1980s. These reforms led to higher growth of non-traditional

exports and the emergence of a more diversified export structure. The

"positive list" carried over from the pre-liberalization days was replaced

with a smaller "negative list", which specified items not to be imported

without official sanction.

3. Towards the end of the 1980s, import liberalization leapt forward

stimulating the export sector with some additional incentives. The number

of items on the negative list was progressively reduced. As far as import

items subject to QRs were concerned, about two thirds of HS 8-digit items

for the whole economy in 1987 had been made eligible for free entry into

the country and only about one eighth of the items remained banned. This

was a substantive progress when set against the highly protected trade

regime in place at the beginning of the 1980s.

4. In the 1990s the liberalization process was accelerated. A major thrust

of change was the substitution of the multiple-rate sales tax by a 15%

VAT. The successive budgets also announced progressive reduction of

tariff and non-tariff barriers. By 1994, the share of free import items rose

to 94% of all HS 8-digit items and only 0.4% remained banned. During this

process, the pace of liberalization in the import of intermediate and capital

goods moved much faster than for consumer goods. 76% of intermediate

and 73% of capital goods were already allowed unrestricted import in

1987; this share increased to 97% and 93%, respectively, in 1994. In

addition to the dismantling of non-tariff restrictions, there has also been a

drastic cut in nominal protection rates over the years. Tables 1 and 2

summarize the reductions in tariff and non-tariff barriers as a result of this

liberalization process.

Table 1

Trends in average and dispersion of tariffs, FY1991-2000

(Per cent)

Description 1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

Number of tariff rates 17

17

14

11

5

6

6

6

6

4

IDS (Infrastructural Development Surcharge) --

--

--

--

--

--

--

2.5

2.5

2.5

Average licence fee --

1.2

1.4

1.5

1.5

1.2

1.3

1.3

1.0

--

Top customs duty rate 350

350

300

300

60

50

45

42.5

40.5

37.5

Source: BBS; NBR.

Table 2

Average import-weighted tariff in Bangladesh, FY1991-1999

(Per cent)

Import categories 1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Intermediate inputs 24.1

24.1

23.6

22.9

26.3

22.43

21.40

20.95

21.45

Capital goods 18.7

18.7

18.4

16.1

12.5

9.61

10.81

8.38

8.57

Final Consumer goods 47.3

47.3

36.5

36.7

26.4

23.57

24.85

17.56

11.19

All imports 24.1

24.1

23.6

24.1

20.8

17.01

17.90

16.06

14.68

Source: NBR.

II. The structure of tariffs

5. It can be seen from information in the above table that the maximum

tariff (customs duty) rate was reduced from 350% in FY91 to 40% in

FY99. Under the FY2000 Budget, the maximum tariff rate was reduced

further to 37.5%. In contrast to the vary high tariff rate that prevailed in

the early 1990s, reductions achieved in the maximum as well as the

average tariff rates are significant. However, the average rate is pulled

down substantially because many of the non-competing imports such as

locally unavailable raw materials and machinery/equipment enter at zero

or very low rates. Competing imports face higher tariff rates, nearly 25%

of tariff lines (mainly finished products) face the maximum tariff rate.

Table 3

Phased removal of quantitative restrictions, FY1990-2002

(Number of 4-digit HS Codes)

Trade reasons

Banned

Restricted

Mixed

1990-91 239

93

47

39

60

1995-97 120

5

6

17

92

1997-2002 129

7

9

17

96

Source: Ministry of Commerce.

6. The percentage of items subject to trade-related quantitative

restrictions has been reduced from 40% to 2%, at the HS 8-digit level.

Most of these developments have taken place since 1992. As a result of

these reforms, the unweighted average tariff has fallen from 89% in

1990/91 to about 20% in 1998/99, while the import-weighted average

tariff has declined from 30% to about 16%.

7. The lowering of tariffs and the withdrawal of quantitative restrictions

has, over the years, contributed to reducing the spread between the

official exchange rate and the market exchange rate. The foreign

exchange market was unified in 1992, and Bangladesh accepted the

obligations of Article VIII of the IMF in 1994, making the taka fully

convertible for current account transactions.

8. Trade liberalization in Bangladesh appears to have progressed at a

faster rate than in many neighbouring countries. Bangladesh exporter have

been very successful in penetrating the highly competitive markets of the

European Union and the United States. In some cases the quota utilization

rate for different categories of apparel has recently been nearly 100% in

Bangladesh. Over the years, Bangladesh has been able to improve product

quality and has gained greater acceptance in international markets, with

apparel exports increasing from 5.2% of total world imports in 1995 to

6.8% in 1997. Garment exporters have gradually moved up-market in

recent years and are increasingly exporting sophisticated items like high

quality suits, jackets and branded items. In recent years some exporter

have also been successful in penetrating Japan's extremely quality

conscious market. As a result, merchandise exports, led by the garments

industry, grew at an impressive annual average rate of 17% in US dollar

terms between 1990/91 and 1997/98. However, the export base has been

very narrow, with bulk of the foreign exchange earnings coming from a few

sectors. The removal of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement quotas in 2004, under

the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, might result in

Bangladesh losing its preferential access in these markets. While

Bangladeshi exporters have started competing effectively in global

markets, the phasing out of preferential access and the abolition of

quotas, scheduled for 2005, will require them to increase their efficiency,

improve product quality and ensure that their products are competitively

priced.

9. The Government is taking a number of steps to improve trade-related

infrastructure, both physical and institutional, to meet the challenge of the

dynamics of the present and future trends in trade. Addressing these

constraints should enable the private sector to diversity into

higher-value-added products and decrease the economy's dependence on

a few items. The Government is aware of the urgent need for building

trade management capacity and in this respect has launched a long-term

Customs and Tax Modernization Program. Initiatives are also in progress for

strengthening the capacity of the Bangladesh Tariff Commission to provide

effective assistance to the Government and the private sector in meeting

obligations of WTO rules and various regional cooperation agreements.

Over the medium term, customs is expected to evolve into a

trade-facilitating agency.

III. Economic preformance

10. Economic performance is the result of the influence of a host of

factors quantitative and qualitative. It is rather difficult to disentangle

precisely the contribution of trade liberalization to economic performance.

However, the significance can be indicated by associating trade

liberalization to the change in some macroeconomic indicators like GDP

growth rate, the rate of inflation, export performance, current account

balance, etc. Thus, trade liberalization appears to have contributed,

together with other market-oriented reforms and sound macroeconomic

management, to improved macroeconomic performance. The people of

Bangladesh have benefited from the improvement in policies, with growth

in GDP per capita accelerating to 3.2% per annum during 1991-98

compared with 1.7% during 1984-90. Per capita GDP growth rates in both

periods would have been higher had it not been for the disaster proneness

of the country, which saw the devastating floods of 1987, 1988 and 1998

and the catastrophic cyclone in 1991. Financial year 1999 has been a

difficult year for Bangladesh. The floods of 1998 imposed hardship on the

lives of millions of people and caused colossal losses to the economy. The

adverse impact of the floods, notwithstanding, actual perfomance of the

economy was far better than expected after the floods. Timely initiative of

the Government and the courage of the people have played an important

part in the process of recovery.

11. It is expected that GDP growth rate will reach 5.47% in FY2000

compared with 4.88% during FY99. Long-term trends of changes in

sectoral composition of GDP show that the relative share of the agriculture

sector declined from about 30% of GDP in the early 1990s to around 25%

in the late 1990s. On the contrary, the share of the manufacturing sector

increased from 12-13% to 15-16% of GDP during the corresponding period.

The shares of other sectors of the economy remained relatively stable

over the same period. These changes indicate that while output of

agriculture has increased on a sustained basis, its relative contribution has

been declining and those of the industry

and the services sector have been increasing over the years. The recent

variations do not indicate reversal of the trend, but the impact of

temporary shocks.

12. The agriculture sector, which provides about one fourth of the GDP,

overcame the impact of the floods. The progressively liberalized

trade-policy environment and the resulting increase in exports in the 1990s

have improved Bangladesh's external position. The current account deficit

excluding grants improved from 2.2% to 1.2% of GDP from 1996/97 to

1997/98.

13. The budget deficit during FY99 has been estimated at 5.3%, up from

4.2% of GDP in the previous year. An expansionary monetary policy was

pursued with Broad money (M2) increasing by 12% in the twelve months

ending April 1999 compared with an increase of 8.7% in the preceding

year. During the first two quarters of FY99 there was an upward pressure

in prices but after the new harvest, the inflation rate declined. Primarily

due to lower food prices, the quarterly adjusted inflation rate fell from

12.7% in December 1998 to 7.5% in April 1999.

14. The FY2000 Budget has emphasized mobilization of domestic

resources, promoting export-led industrial expansion, and poverty

alleviation. It has introduced changes in taxation to expand revenues and

improve efficiency in the tax system. To encourage private investment in

the export sector, floating government bonds amounting to about US$200

million have been offered to attract resources for industrial investment.

Progress has also been made in enacting laws and setting up special

courts to deal with loan defaulters, opening up the telecommunications

and energy sectors to private investment, and improving cost recovery for

public services.