Md Obaidullah
On January 27, 2026, India and the European Union concluded a historic free trade agreement (FTA). The deal, designed to slash tariffs across most goods and deepen cooperation in services, sustainability, and supply chains, was described by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the “mother of all deals.” For Bangladesh, however, this pact signals a looming structural crisis. Bangladesh’s primary export market is becoming significantly more competitive at the precise moment Dhaka is navigating its precarious post-Least Developed Country (LDC) transition.
While the agreement still requires legal scrubbing, translation, and formal ratification, the strategic direction is undeniable: the EU is preparing to treat India as its preferred economic partner in South Asia. The deal liberalizes trade coverage up to 99.3 percent for the EU and 96.6 percent for India. Critically, the EU will remove tariffs on 90 percent of Indian goods upon the deal’s entry into force, rising to 93 percent within seven years.
No comments:
Post a Comment