Background studies
51
An evaluation of the need and cost of selected trade
facilitation measures in Bangladesh: Implications for
the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation
Debapriya Bhattacharya and Syed Saifuddin Hossain*
Summary
With the on-going customs reforms in Bangladesh, a possible future WTO agreement
on trade facilitation will have a profound impact on Bangladesh, as well as on other least
developed and developing countries. These countries will benefit greatly from new trade
facilitation initiatives. Simultaneously, these countries may face enormous challenges in
implementing their commitments in the area of trade facilitation. It is, thus, imperative for
these countries to closely monitor the Doha negotiations in this area and be prepared to
formulate their negotiating strategies. They should also continue with customs administration
reform and trade facilitation capacity building programmes in order to develop their own
internal capacities.
Successive governments in Bangladesh have taken a number of initiatives to
liberalize the country’s trade regime to enable an environment conducive to enhancing
international trade. Bangladesh has come a long way to get rid of the lack of transparency
that previously prevailed in customs procedures. Moreover, the Government has
undertaken a number of trade facilitating measures such as a customs administration
modernization programme, development of the prime sea ports, establishment of new
infrastructures, and simplification of documentation procedures. Nevertheless, the business
community in the country seems to be somewhat frustrated and disappointed regarding
the level of implementation of various trade facilitation measures under GATT Articles V,
VIII and X. The main criticism is that human and financial resources, as well as the basic
information technology infrastructure to support customs operations, are extremely limited.
Lack of political will on the part of the policymakers has also contributed to the current
scenario.
Some of the major issues that have been highlighted by a relatively large number
of private sector representatives as major hurdles in doing business in the country
include: the complex nature of documentation, longer time in releasing and clearing goods
from ports, and corruption among the customs personnel. An enquiry about the level of
satisfaction among the private sector as regards the various trade facilitation measures in
* Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD, Bangladesh). The complete study is available on the companion
CD-ROM to this publication, as well as on the ARTNeT website at: www.artnetontrade.org. The views
presented in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations or any other ARTNeT members or partners. Any remaining errors are the responsibility of the
author(s).