WTO to extend duty-free support to BD after LDC graduation

Staff Reporter :
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has decided to allow the graduating countries, including Bangladesh, to enjoy the duty-free and quota-free facilities after their transition from the least developing countries (LDCs) category, said a statement issued by the WTO.

The decision was taken as senior officials gathered at the WTO on 23 and 24 October for a meeting aimed at making preparations for the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference, scheduled for February 2024 in Abu Dhabi.
“As a result of this decision, LDCs, including Bangladesh, will continue to enjoy some special trade benefits after graduation,” the Bangladesh mission in Geneva said in a statement.

Previously, Bangladesh was supposed to lose duty-free and quote-free market access upon LDC graduation to all regions saves for the EU in 2026.
Now, Bangladesh will continue to enjoy the duty-free benefit for a certain period as the WTO has not given a specific timeframe yet.

There are currently 46 LDCs, of which 16 are at different stages of the graduation process. Of these, ten are WTO members-Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Djibouti, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Senegal, Solomon Islands and Zambia- and four are negotiating their terms of entry into the WTO (Bhutan, Comoros, Sao Tomé and Principe, and Timor-Leste).

Besides, the other two LDCs on the graduation path are Kiribati and Tuvalu. The Doha Program of Action for LDCs calls for 15 more LDCs to meet the graduation criteria by the end of the decade.

“LDC graduation is an important sign of development progress. WTO members reaffirmed their commitment to helping smooth this process for graduating LDCs to prevent any loss of the economic growth and development momentum that had propelled them to graduation,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the WTO.

This decision is a significant step towards addressing the particular challenges graduating LDCs face, and will help people from these countries tap into the opportunities that international trade brings, he added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh along with other LDCs have been negotiating with developing and developed countries and different international organisations like the WTO for an extension of the trade benefits for six more years after graduation due to the economic hits taken for the pandemic and the Ukraine war.

At present, Bangladesh is a top user of duty benefits among the 48 LDCS, using up to 67 percent of the trade privileges. More than 73 percent of Bangladesh’s exports are under trade benefits.

The Coordinator of the LDC Group, Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan of Djibouti, said “LDC graduation has been a key priority for the WTO LDC Group. This decision provides greater predictability and confidence to countries on the path to graduation and to further integration into the multilateral trading system.”