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Apparel/Garments
Can Bangladesh hold on to its EU edge after LDC graduation?
11 Jul '26
4 min read
Pic: Generated by ChatGPT
Insights
Bangladesh is reportedly simultaneously pursuing an EU free trade agreement and GSP Plus status to protect its exports as duty-free access ends after LDC graduation.
With the EU buying nearly half its exports, delays in an FTA and stronger competition from India and Vietnam, stakeholders believe, could erode the country's hard-won edge in its biggest market.
Bangladesh garment industry is staring at a deadline that many believe could reshape its biggest export market.
Within the next few years, the country is set to lose the duty-free access that has powered its rise to global apparel manufacturing giant status. Rather than betting on a single solution, Dhaka is now reportedly chasing two at once—an ambitious free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union as well as GSP Plus status—in a high-stakes effort to keep ‘Made in Bangladesh’ clothing competitive in Europe after the country graduates from least developed country (LDC) status.
For Bangladesh’s apparel industry, the clock could not be ticking louder. As per estimates, the European Union is Bangladesh’s largest single export destination, absorbing roughly 50 per cent of the country’s total shipments. Further, more than an estimated 90 per cent of those EU-bound exports are reportedly made up of readymade garments, even as the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme has long kept tariffs at zero, handing exporters a crucial price edge that powered decades of rapid growth and global dominance.
Bangladesh is reportedly simultaneously pursuing an EU free trade agreement and GSP Plus status to protect its exports as duty-free access ends after LDC graduation.
With the EU buying nearly half its exports, delays in an FTA and st
