ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the challenges and potential of the foreign trade of Bangladesh. It provides an overview of the import policies and import regimes in Bangladesh, followed by an overview of the export policies and export regimes in Bangladesh with an emphasis on the ready-made garment industry. The chapter highlights the importance of a comprehensive trade policy, and the final section offers some conclusions and policy implications. One important aspect of the tariff structure in Bangladesh relates to the use of import taxes that have protective effects over and above the protection provided by customs duties. One of the import issues in the import policy of Bangladesh is the further liberalization of the tariff regime. Lack of coordination and integration in the various elements of export policy strategy has always been a problem in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has liberalized its economy quite considerably and, particularly in the 1990s, the pace of liberalization has been very rapid.
