Leaders of major trade bodies have called for deferring Bangladesh’s graduation from the UN’s least-developed country (LDC) category by three to five years, citing unpreparedness in the face of recent economic and political turbulence.

Speaking at a seminar in Dhaka on Thursday, organised by the International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B) with the BGMEA and the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, participants said businesses were still reeling from the fallout of Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, high global inflation, rising interest rates, last year’s political unrest, surging production costs, and higher US tariffs.

They urged drafting a formal request for submission to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus to seek an extension of the current graduation deadline, set for late 2026. The call also included signing free trade agreements with major partners to preserve preferential market access after graduation.

ICC-B President Mahbubur Rahman warned that graduation would mean losing duty-free access to markets such as the EU and the UK, potentially raising tariffs to 12% and eroding 6–14% of exports unless alternative arrangements like GSP+ are secured. He also noted the loss of WTO special provisions, from export subsidies to relaxed intellectual property rules, and reduced concessional finance.

In a keynote, Sanya Reid Smith of The Third World Network said post-graduation compliance with WTO TRIPS rules could significantly raise medicine prices. For example, insulin could become 11 times more expensive, pushing up poverty among diabetic households. She cited Angola’s graduation delay as a precedent.

Speakers stressed that the issue was not whether Bangladesh should graduate, but how to do so without undermining competitiveness.