Framework for the  Proposed Comprehensive Trade Policy for Bangladesh

A number of studies have indicated that trade liberalisation did not have any significant impact on poverty reduction although the impact on employment generation had been positive (e.g. Raihan 2007). Trade policies pursued over the past years have induced export-led industrialisation in Bangladesh, contributing to the emergence of a number of export-oriented industries. However, many enterprises were also wiped out in the process, these enterprises either failed to take advantage of the removal of anti-export bias, or were unable to compete with the imports. A broad-based industrialisation still remains an unfinished task in Bangladesh. In this backdrop, a rethinking of trade-related policies in Bangladesh is called for both from the perspectives of need for change, and also from that of taking advantages of the new opportunities emerging in the domestic and global scenarios.