Representatives from civil society and economic journalists have raised concerns about the data discrepancy of Bangladesh prior to commencing negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
They made these remarks in a media workshop titled “WTO Trade Rules and LDC Graduation of Bangladesh,” jointly organised by EquityBD and Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) at ERF auditorium on Thursday.
ERF President Mohammad Refayet Ullah Mirdha chaired the session, while ERF General Secretary Abul Kashem moderated it.
While presenting the keynote paper, Bangladesh COAST Foundation Director Barkat Ullah Maruf said, “We must have a national strategy based on actual data and profit calculations before LDC graduation, which will ultimately impact our negotiation with the WTO in future.
“We have discrepancies in our data due to hasty political decisions, which may lead to us losing negotiating power in different sectors, including Agriculture and Fisheries.”
To understand the WTO rules, ERF General Secretary Abul Kashem invited economic reporters and urged them to write reports in this regard for the country’s development.
In his welcome speech, EquityBD Chief Moderator Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said, “Since 2005, EquityBD and COAST Foundation have been working with the WTO. They advocated for the creation of a separate WTO Cell under the commerce ministry to effectively monitor WTO issues, and enhance the country’s negotiation capacity.”
Former director general of the WTO cell and Member of the Bangladesh Competition Commission Hafizur Rahman said as an expert, “We have the benefit of either side of LDC graduation.
“If Bangladesh graduates, it will improve its abilities to compete with developed and developing countries, and if it delays graduation for a few years, it can continue to benefit from the opportunities available to LDCs. We have to choose either of these provisions.”
In closing remarks, Refayet Ullah Mirdha said, “Bangladesh should postpone its graduation for at least ten more years in order to review all national data and prepare to face the challenges.”
Over fifty economic journalists from different news agencies throughout Bangladesh participated in this media workshop.
