Advisory council approves economic partnership agreement with Japan

The advisory council has given the go-ahead for the signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Bangladesh and Japan to increase bilateral trade and investment.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the council today.

The EPA will offer duty-free market access for Bangladesh’s exports to the Japanese market in the post-LDC (least developed country) period.

Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from the LDC category in November this year.

Once the EPA comes into effect, Bangladesh will enjoy duty benefits on the export of 7,379 products to Japanese markets, while Japan will enjoy duty-free market access for 1,039 products in the Bangladeshi market, according to a press release from the commerce ministry.