Rationalise tariff to fight post-LDC challenges

The government should rationalise the existing tariff structure, as Bangladesh will face a few challenges in case of giving subsidies after its graduation to a developing nation, said Rizwan Rahman, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

He spoke at a workshop on "Competitive tariff structure: post–LDC graduation context" organised by the Dhaka Chamber at its office in the capital yesterday.

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After the LDC graduation, Bangladesh will have to pay 8 to 16 per cent duty to the export destination countries, he said.

"Moreover, we will not be able to impose any supplementary and regulatory duty to safeguard local industries, which is going to be a challenge."

At present, the average tariff structure in Bangladesh is about 13.5 per cent, which is higher than Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia, Rahman said.

"We need to prepare ourselves in terms of enhancing productivity, cost minimisation, industry skills development, ease of doing business and cost of doing business."