Economics
If new products not added to export list, Bangladesh will lose tariff war
The United States has imposed additional tariffs at varying rates on export products from different countries. This move has caused grave concern worldwide. The first such announcement of higher tariffs came last April. Implementation was then postponed for three months. During this time, several countries tried through negotiations to reduce the imposed tariff rates. Most were successful. For instance, an additional 37 percent tariff was initially imposed on Bangladeshi exports. Vietnamese exports faced 46 percent, Indian exports 26 percent, and Chinese exports a staggering 125 percent. Later, however, tariffs on Chinese exports were reduced to 30 percent.
From compliance to competitiveness: Bangladesh’s readiness for ESPR in EU market
EU’s Eco-design and Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) entered into force from July 2024, as a part of the package of measures for transition to circular economy. EU besets their environmental and climate goals, circularity and energy efficiency targets by 2030. For specific products, such as textiles and steel ESPR will be implementable from 2026. ESPR contains a number of new measures of which digital product passport (DPP), rules to address destruction of unsold consumer goods, green public procurement etc. For transformation process from compliance to competitiveness government ownership and private sector earnestness is imperative.
Why poverty increasing in country
For more than three years, people’s real income has failed to keep pace with the high inflation gripping the domestic economy. As a result, households across all classes and professions are under pressure.
A Policy Fallacy Rooted in Over-Licensing and Weak Oversight
Bangladesh, with a GDP of around USD 460 billion in 2025, has one of the most over-licensed financial sectors in South Asia. It currently hosts 61 scheduled banks, 38 non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), over 750 licensed microfinance institutions (MFIs), alongside 13 mobile financial service (MFS) providers, 9 payment service providers (PSPs), and 12 payment system operators (PSOs). These institutions are regulated by four bodies: Bangladesh Bank (BB), the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC). Yet financial inclusion remains suboptimal. A substantial segment of the population, including many in urban areas, remains excluded from formal financial services.
Bangladesh’s victory and defeat in US tariff war
After three rounds of discussion, Bangladesh has managed to reduce the increased tariff imposed on its products in the US market from 35 percent to 20 percent. This is not only positive for the country's economy but also a diplomatic success for the interim government. Because when on April 2, US President Donald Trump first announced the rate of additional tariffs on various countries, he stated that a 37 percent additional tariff would be levied on Bangladeshi products. Later, that tariff was suspended temporarily for three months. Trump informed Dr Yunus in a letter that instead of 37, the tariff amount on Bangladesh would be 35 percent, after reducing it by 2 percent.
Reciprocal Tariff by USA - its Impact on Bangladesh Economy
The announcement of Reciprocal Tariff (RT) on April 2, 2025 on 108 countries ranging from 11-49% by the president Donald Trump has shaken the world irrespective of size of the economy and the amount of trade deficit USA is running with the concerned countries. The trade deficit of US was USD 918.4 billion in 2024, total US exports with the rest of the world is USD 3.12 trillion and total imports were USD 4.11 trillion as per the available information. US constantly enjoying surplus in services export, which was USD 1.15 trillion, and import was 0.841 trillion in 2024. USA did not mention services export issues anywhere whereas services export throughout the world is growing and will dominate the future trade.
Trend of reduced high inflation must be maintained
In recent years, the issue that has raised the most concern in Bangladesh’s economy is the trend of high inflation. There seemed to be no way to curb this trend of high inflation. Just as the post-COVID global economy was recovering, the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. This unexpected war caused major disruptions to the global economy. The global supply chain nearly collapsed. As a result, due to transportation crises, the prices of various products around the world rose abnormally. In the year the Russia-Ukraine war began, food and other product production worldwide were normal. Therefore, there was no opportunity to identify the trend of high inflation as a problem caused by a shortage in production.
One of main causes of crisis in banking sector is dual governance
The sector of Bangladesh’s economy that has been most severely affected in recent times is the banking sector. The banking sector is often compared to the flow of blood in the arteries of a country’s economy. Just as a disruption in the natural flow of blood in a human or animal can cause physical complications or even death, likewise, if the banking sector of a country is not properly and efficiently managed, problems will inevitably arise in various sectors of the economy. Due to financial limitations, entrepreneurs in developing countries like Bangladesh must turn to banks to meet their capital needs. But the banking sector is failing to provide the desired support to entrepreneurs and ordinary borrowers.
Savings certificates interest rates reduction: To add insult to injury
A kind of panic and adverse reaction have been created among the country’s ordinary savers after the government decided to reduce the profit rates on savings certificates on June 30.
Reasons behind rapid expansion of imitation jewellery market
Ornaments made of gold is the most used and most in-demand jewellery in the world. There is no country in the world where there is no demand for gold jewellery. Especially women have always been fond of gold jewellery. Gold jewellery not only enhances women's beauty but is also considered a valuable asset; but now the users of gold jewellery are going through a crisis. Due to the abnormal rise in the price of gold in the international market, the price of gold jewellery has recently increased significantly in the local market. At the same time, due to the instability of the gold market, many people are now unable to use gold jewellery despite their wishes. Although the price of gold jewellery has increased, the pursuit of beauty by enthusiasts has not stopped. Therefore, they have leaned towards imitation jewellery as an alternative to gold jewellery.