Bangladesh signed its first comprehensive economic partnership agreement (EPA) with a developed economy, Japan, in Tokyo, the Dhaka Tribune reported on 6 February 2026. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the agreement was signed on 6 February by Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Horii Iwao and Bangladesh’s Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin.
Under the deal, Bangladesh gets duty-free access to Japan for 7,379 products from the first day of implementation, including ready-made garments, while Japan gets duty-free access for 1,039 products in Bangladesh. Bangladesh will open 97 services sub-sectors to Japan and Japan 120 to Bangladesh. METI said the agreement also covers investment, services, e-commerce, intellectual property, customs procedures and trade facilitation, and will remove Bangladeshi tariffs on goods such as steel, auto parts, textiles and electronic components.
Negotiations began formally on 12 March 2024. In FY2024-25 Bangladesh imported $1.87 billion of goods from Japan and exported $1.41 billion. The date of entry into force had not been announced.
Source
- Dhaka Tribune: “Bangladesh signs first EPA with Japan” (6 February 2026)
- Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan): “Press release” (6 February 2026)
File photo: containers at Chattogram port. Photo: Moheen Reeyad / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This article is a summary prepared by Maritime News BD from the report(s) listed above; it was not independently reported by Maritime News BD.
