According to Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, president of the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), if the LDC graduation period is not extended by three years, the nation’s economy will experience a significant setback.
He made this statement on Saturday, January 25, during a press conference held at the BCI office in Tejgaon, the capital. Leaders in attendance included Preeti Chakraborty, Senior Vice President of BCI.
In 2026, Bangladesh will no longer be classified as a Least Developed Country (LDC). A strategic plan to gradually reduce export product incentives has been announced in order to achieve this goal. This initiative is likely to hurt trade, according to exporters.
The president of the BCI stated at the press conference that 100 clothing factories nationwide have shut down in the past 12 months. Two hundred more factories are about to close. In contrast, the current administration is working on the American prescription to implement the labor law so that ‘TICFA’ can be used to obtain GSP benefits in America. However, duty-free access to clothing and textiles will never exist, even if America grants GSP. We believe that the nation’s economy will collapse if graduation cannot be delayed.\
According to him, the industry that will be most negatively impacted is the apparel and textile sector, which is the backbone of the economy after agriculture, which accounts for 85% of exports and only 40% of jobs created. Because only Vietnam will benefit from zero tariffs in the EU in 2027 as a result of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Additionally, Bangladesh’s garment industry will be subject to a 12 percent duty from European importers until 2029; this will create a similar situation in other nations. Given the circumstances, we insist on a three-year delay in the LDC graduation period.
According to Anwarul Alam Chowdhury, the government is adhering to the IMF’s recommendations. If it is put into effect, the economy will suffer and our nation will not function. Here, there won’t be any relief without a democratic government. According to businessmen, the interim government’s election process ought to begin as soon as feasible.
Interest rates are rising once more, he said. The loan classification period has been shortened from six months to three months, and steps have been taken to raise VAT. When the governors and advisors claim that there will be no price increases and that the industry won’t suffer, loan interest rates and fuel prices rise once more. Such deceptive claims worry business owners in the industrial sector. How will foreign direct investment (FDI) occur in this scenario if local business owners are scared to make an investment?
The president of BCI added that entrepreneurs are currently dealing with a lot of difficulties. Politicians and the government have neglected to prioritize the economic chapter. The government does not prioritize the economy, business, and trade because it is preoccupied with other matters. Future government officials won’t be able to run the economy, though, if the wheels of the economy don’t turn. In order to preserve jobs, boost investment, and keep production costs within reasonable bounds to help lower inflation, I assumed that the interim government would take steps to advance by figuring out how to avoid damaging the regular economy’s wheels and implementing various reforms.
