High-level negotiations may take off within days for signing a multidimensional cooperation deal called Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Bangladesh and Japan principally to boost the bilateral trade.
The Dhaka-Tokyo talks are supposed to be held in the capital city, Dhaka, on May 19-23.
To brace themselves with necessary homework on technicalities of the deal-making, the commerce ministry has already constituted a high-powered 18-member Trade Negotiation Committee (TNC) headed by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff commission chairman.
The members have been drawn from different state agencies like PMO, foreign affairs ministry, finance division, commerce ministry, NBR, Tariff Commission, BIDA, BSEC and Dhaka University.
The TNC has been formed under the purview of the Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) Policy 2022.
"The panel of experts will work and bargain with the developed nation to carry forward the negotiations for inking the deal between the nations," says one official in the know.
Bangladesh is expecting to strike the EPA with Japan by December 2025 capping the process that got underway with a joint study group (JSG) report released in 2023.
"After the country's graduation from the LDC status in 2026, the deal would facilitate maintaining its duty-free market access to the world's third-largest economy," the official added.
The proposed EPA will be a "win-win deal for both countries," the Japanese envoy said, emphasizing further strengthening of the bilateral relations, including in trade and business, between the two countries.
Considering looming challenges, the commerce ministry has taken a policy decision to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with potential trading partners for smooth transition into the post-graduation era, a senior official said.
With sights set on an EPA, Bangladesh and Japan on December 12, 2022 decided to conduct a joint feasibility study (JFS) as a spadework.
During the Japan visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in April 2023, the two premiers announced upgrading the bilateral relations into a strategic partnership, in a region where multidimensional bids for forging blocs have been in high gear of late.
Based on the declaration, the commerce ministry of Bangladesh and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry of Japan earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set the process in motion.
The joint-study group had three rounds of meetings in April, July and September last year to give necessary stitches to the proposed partnership deal.
Such an EPA between Bangladesh and Japan would not only promote the expansion of trade and investment by eliminating tariffs and improving the investment environment, it would also help strengthen the political and diplomatic relations between the two countries, which play an important role in the economy of the respective regions, according to the report of JSG.
The report also mentions that Bangladesh is now preparing to face the post-LDC-graduation challenges, including trade-related ones, and has decided to conclude regional trade agreements with existing and potential trade partners to retain its market access and accelerate expansion.
Two-way trade between the two Asia-Pacific nations stands over US$4.0 billion, as of June 2023, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo.
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