Bangladeshi exporters no longer need to feel apprehensive regarding exports to the United Kingdom as Britain has assured that it will continue to allow duty-free access to its markets post Brexit.
Though many local exporters feared that if Brexit was executed, Bangladesh would have to begin paying taxes for exporting goods to the UK, on Saturday, Britain announced that once it had left the EU, it would continue to provide duty-free access to nearly 50 developing countries, including Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Haiti.
In a referendum held on June 23, the UK people decided to leave EU as 52% people voted for an exit and 48% voted to stay with the union.
The UK is the third largest single export destination for Bangladesh, especially since the exporters enjoy duty-free market access for all products under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) under the EU trade agreements.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, from July-May of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh’s exports to the UK has seen a 5.61% decline to $3.25 billion, which, during the same period last year, stood at $3.44 billion. Of the total export earnings, over $3 billion came from the clothing sector.
Faruque Hassan, senior vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told the Dhaka Tribune: “After the Brexit announcement, exporters, especially the apparel manufacturers, retailers and buyers, began to worry that the duty benefits and duty free market access would be rescinded. This recent announcement has allayed all such fears.”
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“I was confident that we could continue to receive duty free market access after Brexit, because Britain believes in trade liberalisation and feels that it is a right for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs),” the apparel sector leader added.
In a recent statement, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said: “Our departure from the EU is an opportunity to step up to our commitments to the rest of the world, not step away from them.”
“Free and fair trade has been the greatest liberator of the world’s poor and today’s announcement shows our commitment to helping developing countries grow their economies and reduce poverty through trade.”
The UK currently imports around 20 billion pounds a year from developing nations, including Bangladesh.
However, according to BGMEA Senior VP Faruque, there is still a lingering fear that grants or development funds from the country will diminish as it will have to bear the expenses of executing the Brexit process.
Instead of allowing the good news to make the government complacent, it has to instead focus on devising ways to improve trade relations and taking exports to a new height, added Faruque, who is also the managing director of Giant Group.
If, the government can negotiate effectively with Britain, Bangladesh’s exports to the country will see a sharp rise, he explained.
A trade analysis by the Commonwealth magazine, entitled “Trade Implications of Brexit for Commonwealth Developing Countries”, named Bangladesh as the number one country that would be affected in absolute terms.
The analysis, published last year, stated that Bangladesh would have to pay £24,79,76 thousand in tariffs to UK customs if it stopped enjoy trade benefits from the UK government after the execution of Brexit.
In the 2015-16 fiscal year, Bangladesh had earned $3.80bn in exports to the UK, of which a lion’s share, about $3.52bn, came from the RMG sector.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
