A China-Bangladesh free trade agreement (FTA) can make more Bangladeshi products exempt from tax, alleviate bilateral trade deficit and offer a sound foundation for constructing the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor, according to Cheng Min, professor at the Institute for Bangladesh Studies of the Yunnan Academy of Social Science in Kunming.
She gave an overview of the feasibility and countermeasure analysis of signing the China-Bangladesh FTA and allayed possible concerns while speaking at an international conference on the belt and road initiative (BRI) in Dhaka recently.A China-Bangladesh free trade agreement (FTA) can make more Bangladeshi products exempt from tax, alleviate bilateral trade deficit and offer a sound foundation for constructing the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor, according to Cheng Min, professor at the Institute for Bangladesh Studies of the Yunnan Academy of Social Science in Kunming.#
In October 2016, during Chinese President Xi Jinping visit to Bangladesh, the two sides agreed to launch a feasibility study on bilateral free trade area. Bangladesh also joined his flagship BRI during that visit.
Bangladesh does not have free trade agreement with any country. The bilateral trade of $16.4 billion in 2017 grew with an average annual growth of 20 per cent since 1975 when China established diplomatic ties with Bangladesh. It is heavily in favour of China. In 2018, China's direct investment in Bangladesh was $228 million.
The trade integration index between the two countries also shows that Bangladesh has a great dependence on Chinese goods and a huge export potential to China, Cheng said. She suggested establishing a list of early harvesting projects, the first being cooperation in garment manufacturing.
The two countries can sign a framework agreement on cooperation in textile and garment industry, Bangla media reports quoted the academic as saying.
She also urged China to offer Bangladesh tax-free preferential policies for more products, including polymer products, gloves, silk, cleaning cloth, leathers, lead-acid batteries and synthetic fibres. The proportion of clothing with zero-tariff policy should increase from 90 per cent to 100 per cent to alleviate Bangladesh's expanding bilateral trade deficit with China, she added. (DS)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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