Bangladesh has sought GSP Plus facility from the European Union, the biggest destination for Bangladesh’s exports, especially apparel items, after 2027.
Duty-free access was the top agenda of the recently held ‘4th European Union-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue’ in Dhaka. During the meeting, Bangladesh sought GSP Plus status from the European Union after 2027.
After the meeting, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “Bangladesh will graduate from LDC status in 2024 and the European Union will continue its GSP for Bangladesh until 2027. We have urged them to give GSP Plus to Bangladesh after 2027.”
“At the same, we told them that this country is an ideal site for investment. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is setting up 100 Economic Zones. Work at some of our Economic Zones is progressing quickly. We called upon European investors to invest in Special Economic Zones. They are interested to expand trade and investment in Bangladesh,” he said.
Also, Minister Tofail said, 5 working groups have been formed in the areas of customs, tax, investment and pharmaceuticals to expand trade and eradicate problems of Bangladesh’s exports to the region and they are working accordingly.
Rensje Teerink, EU Ambassador and Head of European Union delegation, told the media that EU is giving duty-free access to Bangladesh’s products under the ‘everything but arms’ deal and that it will continue giving so in the future. Teerink said, the working groups are solving problems within bilateral trade and contributing to expanding trade.
“European investors are interested in investing in Bangladesh. They will be drawing a decision after visiting Bangladesh. We hope, the next business climate dialogue will be held in March next year,” Teerink added.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
