Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Taskeen Ahmed said prolonged protectionist policies and fragmented policymaking have held back Bangladesh’s competitiveness and export diversification, urging the government to adopt a more open and coordinated trade regime ahead of the country’s graduation from LDC status.
Taskeen made the remarks today (11 May) while speaking at a roundtable on “Trade Policy, Industrial Protection, Investment Impacts, and Consumer Welfare” organised by the Policy Research Institute in Dhaka.
The DCCI president also criticised the lack of coordination between different government agencies, particularly the role of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in trade and industrial policy implementation.
“A trade policy is being made by the government, but another part of the government is not owning it,” he said, adding that many policy decisions ultimately become stalled at the NBR level.
Calling NBR the “nucleus” of the policy environment, Taskeen said businesses across sectors, from health to agriculture, cannot move beyond revenue-related barriers.
Taskeen also pushed back against the perception that businesses earn excessive profits, claiming manufacturers and retailers in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, garments and retail often operate on margins of only 5% to 6%.
The DCCI president argued that decades of protectionist policies have restricted industrial competitiveness and delayed export diversification beyond the ready-made garment sector.
Referring to economies such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, he said excessive protection measures ultimately constrain growth rather than strengthen industries.
Taskeen said there remains a persistent fear within the NBR that lowering tariffs would reduce government revenues, despite evidence showing tariff rationalisation can increase revenue collection through higher economic activity.
“The more you bring down protectionism and import duties, the more your revenue generation increases,” he said, citing trends observed between the 1990s and early 2000s.
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