52 An exploration of the need for and cost of selected trade facilitation measures in Asia and the Pacific in the context of the WTO negotiations
place in Bangladesh brought to the forefront their utter dismay with the situation. A sheer
majority (65 per cent) of the respondents were upset with the existing customs and trade
regulations and procedures. They mentioned that such cumbersome administrative
procedures impose a great deal of extra cost on doing business. This can also be
corroborated by the fact that as many as 90 per cent of the respondents felt that the major
difficulties faced in the export and import context emanate domestically. Under the present
context, the private sector has made a number of suggestions to facilitate trade, including
adequate measures to eliminate corruption from the customs system, and simplification of
customs valuation and documentation procedures.
As for implementation costs of various trade facilitation measures, the qualitative
assessment reveals that although setup and operating costs are large, the long-term
savings gains from such measures are likely to outweigh the costs.
Most of the trade facilitation standards held as models are those devised by
developed countries in the light of their own needs, experiences, capacities and objectives
to develop command of state-of-the-art technology and tools. It is, thus, in the interests of
least developed and developing countries to make haste slowly so that they can manage
the balancing of the costs and benefits of trade facilitation. If not, trade facilitation could
thus become another arduous obligation on least developed and developing countries and
provide developed countries with yet another sophisticated instrument for creating a stumbling
block towards economic development in LDCs such as Bangladesh.