Discussion over the bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement between Bangladesh and Korea is expected to begin in late July to finalise it by this year, commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman said on Sunday.
He said this while addressing the Korea-Bangladesh Investment Seminar, jointly organised by the Korean Embassy in Bangladesh and the Foreign Investors鈥� Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a Dhaka hotel.
He said that the proposed EPA would include duty rationalisation, investment, regional value addition, trade in services, and other components for expanding the bilateral trade between the two countries.
The commerce secretary indicated that the import policy order might be revised. He also hinted at a consideration of reducing import duties on smartphones in the national budget for 2025-26 fiscal year to help curb grey market sales in the country.
Korean ambassador to Bangladesh Park, Young-sik in his keynote paper said that Bangladesh had the potential to be an export hub due to its demographic dividend with young population, an expanding consumer base and聽 strategic location connecting South Asia and SouthEast Asia.
In 2023, Bangladesh imported goods worth $1.62 billion and exported goods worth $649 million in the same year, according to data from the Korean embassy in Dhaka.
Expecting tariff rationalisation in the upcoming national budget, Zaidi Sattar, the chairman of the Policy Research Institute, said that Bangladesh remained highly trade-restrictive due to a lack of tariff reform over the past 20 years.
KIDO chief financial officer Park, Jung Ho said that the Korean company operating in Bangladesh had planned to expand its workforce from 4,200 to 10,000 at its facilities within the Adamjee Export Processing Zone.
He, however, said that cultural differences, unavailability of skilled workers, traffic congestion and environmental pollution were the challenges in doing business in Bangladesh.
Samsung Electronics country manager Jung Min alleged that the grey market was increasingly dominating Bangladesh鈥簊 smartphone sector.
Citing that grey market devices bypass taxes to gain a price advantage and the Bangladesh government鈥檚 losing significant revenues, he recommended strict implementation of the National Equipment Identity Register.
The seminar was also attended by businessmen, diplomats and government officials of both countries.
Korean businessmen highlighted that policy inconsistency, road blockade and labour unrest, delays in the customs clearance were among the major challenges in business in Bangladesh.
