Bangladesh-Japan EPA declaration today

Bangladesh and Japan are set to announce a joint declaration on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) today, aiming to boost bilateral trade and investment, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman told The Daily Star yesterday.

The announcement will be made at an event at the commerce ministry, where Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will hold a phone conversation to launch the declaration.

A joint statement detailing the EPA will follow, Rahman added.

Although the EPA was expected to be enforced this month, the agreement may now be signed in January, after the final document gets the approval of Japan's National Parliament, the Diet.

If implemented, this will be Bangladesh's first full-fledged trade agreement with any country. Currently, Bangladesh has only one Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan, signed in December 2020 and effective from July 2022.

Bangladesh is negotiating trade deals with over a dozen countries to secure preferential market access ahead of its graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category to developing country status on November 24 next year.

Studies suggest the country could lose nearly $8 billion, or 14 percent of exports annually, from the loss of LDC-related trade benefits after graduation if it cannot secure trade deals with major partners.