In keeping with the Preferential Tariff Policy, the Chinese Government lowered duties on goods imported from Bangladesh – a move that goes from 1 July to products imported. Almost all goods in Bangladesh (97%) will now see reduced taxes up from 60% prior to the report.
China Briefing reports that China will now offer a duty-free export advantage to an extra 5,161 Bangladeshi goods, with the number of exempt goods being increased to 8,256, provided by professional services company, Decan Shira and Associates. This includes the products authorized under the Trade Agreement of Asia Pacific (APTA).
Since 2010, exporters in Bangladesh enjoyed the majority of the duty-free benefits, according to the report, with the most common imports into China are jute, plastics, crude hide, hides, frozen seaweeds and crabs, live eels, sesame seeds and cotton waste products. But China Briefing has stated that exports have shown no noticeable growth, given the duty advantages that the country has had over the last decade.
Export Promotion Bureau data shows that during the 2014-2015 fiscal year, total exports to China amounted to $791 million. By 2019, the figure had only risen to $831 million. By May, exports totalled $557 million, looking back to the fiscal year which started in July 2019.
There is, however, a positive trend in one area: ready-made clothes. The incentives offered by each agreement are not coordinated because of a loopholes created in a clash between APTA and China’s Preferential Tariff Agreement. In reality, these problems give exporters in Bangladesh a chance to put clothes on the Chinese market.
