Bangladesh and Japan signed an Economic Partnership Agreement on 6 February 2026, granting wide-ranging duty-free access for Bangladeshi exports and opening new opportunities in trade, services and labour mobility ahead of Bangladesh’s graduation from least developed country status.
Bangladesh and Japan signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on 6 February 2026 in Tokyo, establishing Bangladesh’s first comprehensive bilateral trade deal with a major developed economy.
The agreement is expected to cost Bangladesh less than BDT 20 crore annually in forgone import duties on Japanese goods, while strengthening access to Japan’s market.
Under the EPA, Japan will provide immediate duty-free access to 7,379 Bangladeshi products, compared with 1,039 Japanese items receiving the same treatment in Bangladesh. The number of duty-free Japanese products will increase gradually over an 18-year period, creating a heavily asymmetric arrangement in Bangladesh’s favour.
The garment sector is set to benefit significantly, as the agreement permits single-stage transformation, allowing exporters to qualify for zero-duty treatment even when using imported fabrics. Officials said this addresses a key limitation faced by manufacturers due to limited domestic textile capacity.
As a least developed country (LDC), Bangladesh also secured a 10-year relaxation in the intellectual property rights, under which Japan will not seek patent rights on goods from the date of enforcement of the EPA. In services, Bangladesh gained access to 120 Japanese sub-sectors, while opening 98 sub-sectors across 12 sectors to Japanese investment.
The EPA expands opportunities for Bangladeshi professionals, including doctors, nurses, caregivers and domestic helpers, in Japan’s labour-constrained economy.
Signed after seven rounds of negotiations, the agreement now awaits ratification by Japan’s parliament, the Diet, as Bangladesh prepares to graduate from LDC status later this year.
