BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY OF BANGLADESH: FOREIGN TRADE IN PERSPECTIVE

Author: Mohammad Jasim Uddin

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/BIISSj2016v37n3

ABSTRACT

The paper focuses on Bangladesh’s foreign trade-specific economic diplomacy. It argues that several important issues of such economic diplomacy need to be dealt with by relevant actors particularly the Government of Bangladesh and its foreign trade enhancing agencies at multi-level platforms. It finds that considering various trade uncertainties and addressing their likely adversities, reducing bilateral trade gap with major trading partners, moving towards global and regional value chains, and reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers are the most important issues of Bangladesh’s trade diplomacy. Other issues are tariff concessions, preferential tariffs, flexible rules of origin, special and differential treatment, duty free quota free market access, exploiting benefits of duty free quota free market access already provided by several states and export promotion. The paper concludes that some vital instruments can be adopted to deal with these issues, which include finalising and updating legally binding contracts, strengthening the role of Bangladeshi missions abroad, delinking trade diplomacy at multiple levels, engaging Bangladeshi diaspora, exercising consular and commercial diplomacy, increasing skills of trade negotiators and promoting Brand Bangladesh.