GENERAL AGREEMENT ON RESTRICTED C/RM/S/24A 11 May 1992 TARIFFS AND TRADE Limited Distribution COUNCIL TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM BANGLADESH Report by the Secretariat In pursuance of the CONTRACTING PARTIES' Decision of 12 April 1989 concerning the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (L/6490), the Secretariat submits herewith Volume A (Text) of its report on Bangladesh. Volume B (Tables and Appendices) is presented in document C/RM/S/24B. The report is drawn up by the Secretariat on its own responsibility. It is based on the information available to the Secretariat and that provided by Bangladesh. As required by the Decision, in preparing its report the Secretariat has sought clarification from Bangladesh on its trade policies and practices. Document C/RM/G/24 contains the report submitted by the Government of Bangladesh. NOTE TO DELEGATIONS Until further notice, this document is subject to a press embargo. 92-0604 C/RM/S/24A Page (i) CONTENTS Page SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS vii (1) Bangladesh in World Trade ix (2) Institutional Framework xi (3) Trade Policy Features and Trends xiii (i) Evolution of trade policies and instruments xiii (ii) Exchange rate policies xv (iii) Sectoral policies xvi I. THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 1 (1) The Main Features of the Economy 1 (i) Overview 1 (ii) Growth performance 2 (iii) Macroeconomic balances and policy 6 (iv) Sectoral developments and policy 14 (2) Recent Economic Developments 16 (i) The impact of the cyclone 17 (3) Changes in the Pattern of Trade 18 (i) Export commodities 18 (ii) Export markets 20 (i.i) Import commodities 21 (iv) Import sources 23 (4) Outlook 23 C/RM/S/24A Page (ii) Page II. TRADE POLICY REGIME: FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES 25 (1) General Framework 25 (2) Structure of Trade Policy Formulation 25 (i) Legislative and Executive branches of Government 25 (ii) Advisory bodies 28 (iii) Review bodies 31 (3) Trade Policy Objectives 32 (i) General trade policy objectives 32 (ii) Sectoral trade policy objectives 33 (iii) Bangladesh in the Uruguay Round 34 (4) Trade Laws and Regulations 34 (5) Trade Agreements 35 (i) Multilateral agreements 35 (ii) Regional arrangements 35 (iii) Bilateral agreements 35 III. TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE REGIME AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 37 (1) Exchange Rate Regime 37 (i) Exchange rate movements and the balance of payments 39 (ii) Exchange rate movements and trade 40 (2) Foreign Exchange Allocation and Regulation 46 (i) Legal basis and objectives 46 (ii) Allocation of foreign exchange 47 (iii) Regulation of foreign exchange 47 C/RM/S/24A Page (iii) Page (3) Foreign Direct Investment 48 (i) Regulations 48 (ii) Pattern of foreign direct investment 50 IV. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 52 (1) Overview 52 (2) Measures Directly Affecting Imports 53 (i) Import procedures and restrictions 53 (ii) Tariffs 60 (iii) Tariff quotas 73 (ivz) Variable import levies 73 (V) Other levies and charges 73 (vi) Minimum import prices 74 (vii) Import prohibitions 75 (viii) Import licensing 77 (ix) Import quotas 57 (x) Import deposit 79 (xi) State trading and Government procurement 80 (xii) Import cartels 81 (xiii) Countertrade 81 (xiv) Technical regulations and standards 82 (xv) Local content requirements 84 (xvi) Balance-of-payments measures 85 (xvii) Anti-dumping or countervailing measures 85 (xviii) Other measures 85 (2) Measures Directly Affecting Exports 86 (i) Registration, documentation 86 (ii) Export taxes, charges, levies 87 (iii) Minimum prices 87 (iv) Export prohibitions 88 (v) Export licensing 88 (vi) Export quotas 89 (vii) Export cartels and similar restrictions 89 (viii) Voluntary restraints, surveillance and similar measures 89 C/RM/S/24A Page (iv) Page (ix) Export subsidies 90 (x) Duty and tax concessions 91 (xi) Export finance 97 (xii) Export insurance and guarantees 99 (xiii) Export promotion, marketing assistance 100 (xiv) Export performance requirements 102 (xv) Free-trade zones, export processing zones 102 (xvi) Other measures 103 (4) Measures Affecting Production and Trade 103 (i) Investment regulation and promotion 103 (ii) Adjustment assistance 104 (iii) Assistance to research and development 104 (iv) Subsidies, tax concessions 104 (v) Pricing and marketing arrangements 111 (vi) Regional assistance 112 ANNEX IV.1 Seven steps to import for an industrial consumer 114 V. TRADE POLICTES AND PRACTICES BY SECTOR 117 (1) Overview 117 (i) Agriculture 117 (ii) Industry 118 (iii) Nominal rates of protection 120 (iv) Effective rates of assistance and industrial performance 120 (2) Foodgrains 124 (i) Overall situation 124 (ii) Growth performance of the main crops 124 (iii) Government policies 125 (iv) Trade restrictions 136 (3) Tea 136 (4) Qilseeds, fats and oils and their products 137 (5) Sugar 138 (6) Tobacco 138 C/RM/S/24 Page (v) Page (7) Fish, shellfish and products 139 (8) Jute 140 (i) General situation 140 (ii) Government policies 143 (9) Textiles and clothing 146 (i) Garments 146 (ii) Weaving, spinning 148 (10) Leather 151 (11) Petroleum and natural gas 152 (12) Fertilizers and mineral products 153 (i) Fertilizers 153 (ii) Cement 154 (13) Chemicals 155 (i) Pesticides 155 (ii) Pharmaceuticals 155 (14) Capital goods and electrical equipment 156 (15) Transport equipment 158 VI. TRADE DISPUTES AND CONSULTATIONS 160 C/RM/S/24A Page (vii) SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS 1. In Bangladesh, one of the least-developed countries, a fundamentaZ shift in policy has taken place over the last decade. An import substituting strategy, based on State control and ownership, has gradually given way to a greater degree of market-directed, export-oriented industrialization, reliant on private enterprise. This has meant reduced levels of nominal protection for domestic industry; easier access to imports of industrial raw materials, especially for exporters; privatization of State-owned enterprises; encouragement of foreign direct investment; reduced State intervention in the market for agricultural outputs and inputs; and a greater rôle for the market in determining key economic variables, including interest rates and the exchange rate. 2. However, the transition to a more liberal economic regime has been only partially accomplished. Levels of protection offered to domestic industry through both tariff- and quantitative restrictions continue to be high and variable. Export promotion measures have so far benefitted only a few selected sectors and have not fully offset the disincentives to export created by high levels of protection. Restrictions on certain exports of primary and intermediate goods, perceived as necessary to bring a shift into higher value added products, have instead led to a net decline in export earnings from the affected product categories. 3. Resources continue to be diverted to loss-making public enterprises, primarily through the provision by nationalized commercial banks of concessional credit which is often not repaid. The performance of privatized industry has not been significantly better than chat of the public sector since it still operates in a fairly restrictive environment. While the entry conditions have been eased, exit is encumbered by Government policy that protects existing employment arid does little to encourage factor mobility between industries. Foreign direct investment C/RM/S/24A Page (viii) has not yet begun to respond in significant measure to recently offered incentives such as tax exemptions and facilities for profit repatriation. 4. Scarcity of domestic savings and foreign exchange remain the fundamental bottlenecks to Bangladesh's development. Low per capita income, reflecting low levels of productivity, limits the scope for domestic saving. The ability to earn foreign exchange is constrained by a narrow resource base, which sustains local production of only a limited range of goods. Consequently, export revenues depend almost entirely on a few products, most of which are subject to both domestic supply shocks and fluctuations in international prices; concurrently, the country imports a wide range of products, including food, manufactured goods and fuel. 5. Foreign aid has helped both to supplement domestic savings and to facilitate the transformation of savings into investment by the import of capital goods. However, Government revenue has consistently fallen short of its expenditure. The reduction of fiscal deficits under stabilization programmes has led to cuts in development rather than current expenditure. On the other hand. inability to raise significant revenue through either direct taxes or the profitable operation of public enterprises. has led to an overwhelming dependence on customs duties. Thus the fiscal constraint has been seen by the authorities as limiting the scope for achieving greater allocative efficiency through trade liberalization. 6. However. in the last few years. there has been a strong revenue mobilization effort complemented by efforts to control current expenditure. The Government has enacted major tax reforms, including the introduction of a value added tax to replace most sales tax and excise duty collections. Tight control on current expenditure has taken the form of controls on wage increases and reduced subsidies. (1) Bangladesh in World Trade 7. Since the 1980s- Bangladesh has witnessed a striking change in the composition of its trade. Non-traditional exports like ready-made garments C/RM/S/24A Page (ix) and frozen fish have grown rapidly while traditional exports like jute, leather and tea have virtually stagnated. These developments are, in part, attributable to changes in the pattern of comparative advantage. but a significant rôle has also been played by Government policy and certain developments in the international trading environment. The export base. however, remains narrow with the above five product categories responsible for over 90 per cent of total export earnings. 8. Bangladesh has emerged as a major garment exporter in the last decade. Between 1982-83 and 1982-90, exports rose from US$7 million to US$620 million and in the latter year accounted for 40 per cent of export earnings. Some 55 per cent of garment exports go to the United States, 35 per cent to Europe and and the rest mainly to Canada.