Market Access Issues: EU-Bangladesh Trade Regime

The report identifies that while the EU's 'Everything But Arms' (EBA) policy has removed tariffs and quotas for Bangladesh, SMEs still face significant non-tariff barriers. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), including standards and certification, are the most dominant obstacles across all four studied sectors. Government-related administrative procedures and strict rules of origin also hinder trade, particularly in the knitwear and pharmaceutical industries. The study concludes that without capacity-building and technical assistance, SMEs will struggle to utilize duty-free trade regimes.

• Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), categorized as Type II barriers, are the most significant obstacles for SMEs across all four analyzed industries, encompassing technical regulations, standards, testing, and certification arrangements.
• In the leather and leather goods industry, Type II barriers are the most dominant (80% of responses), followed by Type III barriers (60%) and Type I barriers (40%). Specific challenges include the requirement for AZO-free certification to avoid cancer hazards, which is strictly prohibited in Germany.
• The knitwear industry is primarily hindered by Type I barriers (80% of responses), specifically customs valuation, rules of origin, and administrative formalities. Delays at Bangladeshi ports of entry for raw materials imported from China and India frequently extend from 5-7 days to 20-22 days, threatening contract deadlines.
• The shrimp processing industry faces severe Type II barriers, with 100% of respondents citing them as major problems. Compliance with HACCP and Food and Veterinary office (FVO) criteria is costly, with average plant investments of US$ 227,450.97 for HACCP compliance and potential losses of approximately 1 million taka (US$ 15,197.568) per rejected 40ft container.
• Pharmaceutical exports to the EU are severely limited by strict rules of origin (Type I) and high certification costs (Type II). Product registration fees in importing countries are estimated to range between US$ 10,000 and US$ 40,000.
• Type III barriers, involving marking, labeling, and packaging requirements, are a significant issue for the leather and shrimp industries but were not reported as existing in the knitwear or pharmaceutical sectors.
• Type IV barriers, consisting of import charges such as port taxes and safeguard measures, were not found to exist in any of the four studied industries, likely due to the EU's Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative.

APA

HAQUE, A. E., KARIM, A., & ABDALLAH, W. (n.d.). Market Access Issues: EU-Bangladesh Trade Regime. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_market_bangladesh.pdf

Chicago

HAQUE, A.K. Enamul, Azreen KARIM, and Wahid ABDALLAH. Market Access Issues: EU-Bangladesh Trade Regime. International Institute for Sustainable Development, n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_market_bangladesh.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=HAQUE |first1=A.K. Enamul |last2=KARIM |first2=Azreen |last3=ABDALLAH |first3=Wahid |title=Market Access Issues: EU-Bangladesh Trade Regime |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_market_bangladesh.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{haquendmarket, author = {HAQUE, A.K. Enamul and KARIM, Azreen and ABDALLAH, Wahid}, title = {{Market Access Issues: EU-Bangladesh Trade Regime}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_market_bangladesh.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }