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The government is reconsidering Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country status following pressure from the country’s business community.

Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from the UN LDC bloc in November 2026.

Commerce ministry secretary Mahbubur Rahman said that they were pursuing a three-year extension of the LDC transition period for Bangladesh.

The secretary was addressing an event on Tuesday organised by the Research and Policy Integration for Development at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital,

‘In this regard, we are consulting experts and will make every possible effort,’ he said, adding that though prospects were not very encouraging, there was no reason to be completely disheartened.

The event was titled ‘RAPID Workshop for Journalists on Implications of US Reciprocal Tariffs & LDC Graduation: Concerns and Options for Bangladesh.’

Meanwhile, in another seminar organised by the Economic Relations Division on Tuesday, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, special assistant for the Ministry of Finance, said that LDC-specific international support measures might get squeezed in the coming days in light of the changing  global economic situations.

He also cautioned that whether the country remained an LDC or not, it would be difficult to continue to receive ISMs in the coming years due to the contraction of the global economy.

At the RAPID event, the commerce secretary said that delaying the graduation would require a resolution to be passed at the United Nations General Assembly.

‘However, some of Bangladesh’s key development partners, including Japan, Turkey, India, and the United States, do not favour the extension,’ he said.

He also stated that this [unwillingness] made passing such a resolution challenging, noting that the government was engaging with development partners to secure technical assistance instead.

Meanwhile, speaking to ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·, Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that going through the UNGA process would not be fruitful.

‘The government should send a letter to the UN Secretary General requesting a survey on Bangladesh’s graduation readiness and the potential post-graduation risks,’ he said.

He added that if the UN was convinced by the survey results, which would highlight issues such as single-product dependence and the absence of free trade agreements or preferential trading agreements, deferment might be considered.

The commerce secretary also stressed the need to expand Bangladesh’s export basket to strengthen its negotiating power.

‘We are also working to enhance our negotiating capacity by forming a negotiation pool with private specialists,’ he said.

He noted that simply signing FTAs did not always benefit a country unless it became a strong trading nation.

‘China has provided zero-duty access to almost 100 per cent of our products, but we could not increase our exports to China,’ he said, pointing to the country’s huge trade deficit with the East Asian country.

He also said that negotiating trade deals based on a single product, readymade garments, is not always convenient.

‘We must focus on building capacity and investing in new industries to face post-LDC challenges,’ he said.

Regarding tariffs, he stated that Bangladesh had initiated FTA negotiations with the United States under the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement and the 2013 investment treaty.

‘The United States Trade Representative is negotiating with 154 countries; meanwhile, a USTR delegation led by Brendan Lynch arrived in Bangladesh on Sunday, which shows our importance to them,’ he said.

He stressed the need for investment in key sectors to overcome post-LDC and tariff-related challenges.

He also said that exporters might lose some incentives after graduation, and the government was working on alternative incentive schemes.

On reserve stability, he said, the government is also working to strengthen foreign currency reserves and the exchange rate, which are crucial for boosting investment.

‘I think the LDC graduation is not as scary as it appears,’ he said.

At ERD seminar, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury said emphasised on taking necessary preparations so that the country could maintain its competitive edge even in the absence of such ISMs.

During the event, RAPID chair MA Razzaque presented a research report highlighting the potential impact of US reciprocal tariffs on Bangladesh’s exports.

According to the report, Bangladesh’s global trade could decline by 0.77 per cent due to the tariffs.

It said that reciprocal tariffs might shrink imports and contract markets of the US by 12 per cent or $10 billion, potentially reducing Bangladesh’s exports to the US by up to 14 per cent, or $1.25 billion — including $1.08 billion in RMG — over the next year.

The report projected similar declines for other countries, with China’s exports to the US falling by 58 per cent, India’s by 48 per cent, Vietnam’s by 28 per cent, and Indonesia’s by 27 per cent.

It added that if India secured a trade deal reducing its reciprocal tariff by 20 per cent, Bangladesh’s export decline could deepen to 17.46 per cent, while India’s would drop to 18.33 per cent.

The report also stated that after the graduation, Bangladesh was likely to face tariff hikes in major export markets.

It said that the deferment process under the United Nations Committee for Development Policy was complex, requiring a formal application, review by the committee, recommendations to UN Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC review, and finally a UNGA consensus decision.

However, limited time, disunity among G77 members, and other challenges make deferment almost impossible, the report said.

Doulat Akter Mala, president of the Economic Reporters Forum, and Mohammed Abu Eusuf, executive director of RAPID, also spoke at the event.