3. Bangladesh shall accept the FSIS Meat, Poultry, and Egg Product Inspection Directory, which lists all Federally inspected establishments producing meat, poultry, Siluriformes, and egg products regulated by FSIS, as the official list of U.S. establishments eligible to export meat and poultry (including offal), meat and poultry products, processed meat and poultry, Siluriformes, and egg products to Bangladesh.
4. Bangladesh shall accept U.S. meat and poultry (including offal), meat and poultry products, processed meat and poultry, Siluriformes, and egg products inspected by FSIS and accompanied by a FSIS Export Certificate of Wholesomeness (FSIS 9060-5 series certificate) or electronic data elements, or any successor thereto.
5. Bangladesh shall impose no additional product registration or facility registration requirements on U.S. meat and poultry (including offal), meat and poultry products, processed meat and poultry, Siluriformes, and egg products.
Article 1.6. Agricultural Biotechnology
1. Noting the ability of agricultural biotechnology to improve lives by helping to feed growing populations and by promoting improved agricultural productivity while optimizing inputs, Bangladesh shall maintain, for products of agricultural biotechnology, science- and risk-based regulatory frameworks and efficient authorization processes, in order to facilitate increased trade in such products.
2. Recognizing the efficacy of the U.S. regulatory system to assess the safety of products of agricultural biotechnology, within 24 months of entry into force of this Agreement, Bangladesh shall develop and implement a policy whereby a product of agricultural biotechnology (11) that can be legally sold in the United States and has completed all relevant U.S. premarket processes, whether voluntary or mandatory, shall be allowed to be imported and marketed in Bangladesh for the same purposes without requiring a pre-market review, deregulation, additional labeling requirements, or approval by Bangladesh.
3. Bangladesh shall, within 24 months of entry into force of this Agreement, develop and implement a policy to ensure that Bangladesh addresses any low-level presence (LLP) occurrence affecting a U.S. agricultural export:
(a) without unnecessary delay; and
(b) does so by taking into account any relevant risk or safety assessment provided, and authorization granted, by the United States or any third country.
Article 1.7. Non-Living Modified Organisms
Bangladesh recognizes that processed food and agricultural products derived from products of agricultural biotechnology, do not contain living modified organisms and therefore are not subject to approval by Bangladesh's authorities. For the purposes of this Article, the definition of "processed" includes heat treatment, grinding, or other processing that removes the ability of the product of agricultural biotechnology to germinate.
Article 1.8. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) - Live Poultry and Poultry Product Commodities
1. Bangladesh shall not adopt or maintain any measure related to importation of live poultry, poultry genetics, poultry products, and eggs and egg products, that is inconsistent with the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code Chapter (TAHC) 10.4 (Infection with High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Viruses) or any successor thereto. Specifically, Bangladesh shall align the import regulation definition for poultry with the WOAH TAHC definition for poultry.
2. Within 180 days of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, Bangladesh shall decrease the scope of HPAI regionalization of the United States from State level to a 10km zone for live poultry, poultry genetics, poultry products, and eggs and egg products. Bangladesh shall ensure that any import restrictions imposed on U.S. live poultry, poultry genetics, poultry products and eggs and egg products in response to outbreaks of HPAI are limited to the 10km zone in which the outbreak was confirmed.
3. Bangladesh shall recognize the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) as the competent animal health authority to determine if a 10km zone is considered free of HPAI, as defined by the WOAH TAHC Chapter 10.4, or any successor thereto, and therefore is eligible to export live poultry and poultry product commodities to Bangladesh and shall not impose import restrictions on live poultry, poultry genetics, poultry products, and eggs and egg products beyond what is implemented within the United States for domestic purposes.
Article 1.9. Halal Certification
If Bangladesh requires a Halal certification, Bangladesh shall allow any U.S. Halal certifier that meets Bangladesh's Halal requirements to certify products as Halal for importation into Bangladesh without additional requirements. (12)
Article 1.10. Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) (13)
1. Recognizing the importance of establishing science- and risk-based MRLs, in cases where Bangladesh has not established an MRL, Bangladesh shall recognize and accept the corresponding U.S. tolerances. If the United States does not maintain a corresponding tolerance, Bangladesh shall recognize and accept the corresponding Codex Alimentarius (Codex) MRL.
2. In the event of an instance of non-compliance with the relevant MRL, Bangladesh shall apply enhanced, risk-based surveillance, if warranted, only to the entity responsible for the non-compliance. Bangladesh shall also provide the entity responsible for the non-compliance an opportunity to dispute or resolve the alleged violation.
3. Bangladesh shall limit suspension of U.S. entities based on MRL non-compliance to the responsible entity and only after multiple instances of non-compliance.
4. Bangladesh shall ensure that testing methodologies and marker residues used to determine compliance with MRLs are consistent with the underlying risk assessment used to establish the corresponding Bangladesh MRL, U.S. tolerance, or Codex MRL being applied and ensure that testing methodologies and marker residues are communicated in a transparent manner.
Article 1.11. Plant and Plant Products Market Access
1. For U.S. market access requests submitted to Bangladesh after entry into force of this Agreement, Bangladesh shall complete the market access process and reach agreement with the United States on a protocol to allow imports within 24 months of submission.
2. Recognizing the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures 14 (ISPM 14) as the relevant international standard regarding the use of integrated measures in a systems approach for pest risk management, Bangladesh shall accept the use of systems approach protocols for the importation of U.S. plant products into Bangladesh. For U.S. plant product requests for systems approaches submitted to Bangladesh's Ministry of Agriculture after entry into force of this Agreement, the Ministry of Agriculture shall agree to a systems approach protocol within 24 months of submission.
Import Licensing
Article 1.12. Import Licensing
1. Bangladesh shall immediately submit its annual questionnaire on import licensing procedures to the WTO, per Article 7.3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.
2. Bangladesh shall not require an import permit or letter of credit prior to shipment of food products or agricultural goods from the United States.
Intellectual Property
Article 1.13. Geographical Indications
With respect to the protection or recognition of a geographical indication, including pursuant to an international agreement, Bangladesh shall:
(a) ensure transparent and fair procedures for examination, opposition, and cancellation, including with respect to a translation or transliteration;
(b) ensure that the grounds for refusal, opposition, and cancellation include the likelihood of confusion with a prior trademark and whether the term is the term customary in common language as the common name for the relevant good in its territory;
(c) publicly identify which component or components it is protecting and which it is not protecting;
(d) not protect an individual component of a multi-component term that is protected or is recognized as a geographical indication if that individual component is the term customary in common language as the common name for the relevant good in its territory;
(e) not prevent third parties from commercial use of a term, sign, or image based on the evocation of a geographical indication protected or recognized in its territory; and
(f) in determining whether a term is the term customary in common language as the common name for the relevant good in its territory, have the authority to take into account how consumers understand the term in its territory and recognize that factors relevant to that consumer understanding may include:
(i) whether the term is used to refer to the type of good in question, as indicated by competent sources such as dictionaries, newspapers, and relevant websites;
(i) whether the term is used to refer to the type of good in question, as indicated by competent sources such as dictionaries, newspapers, and relevant websites;
(ii) how the good referenced by the term is marketed and used in trade in its territory;
(iii) whether the term is used in relevant international standards to refer to a type or class of good in its territory, such as pursuant to a standard promulgated by Codex;
(iv) whether persons other than the person who claims rights in the term use the term as the name for the type of product in question;
(v) whether the good in question is imported into its territory, in significant quantities, from a place other than the territory identified in the application or petition, and whether those imported goods are named by the term; and
(vi) whether the product associated with the term is manufactured or traded in significant quantities from a place other than the territory identified in the application or petition.
Article 1.14. International Agreements
Bangladesh shall ratify or accede to each of the following agreements, if it is not already a party to that agreement, and shall fully implement each agreement as per the timeframe below:
(a) Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, done at Berne on September 9, 1886, as revised at Paris on July 24, 1971;
(b) Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, done at Budapest on April 28, 1977, as amended on September 26, 1980, within 5 years;
(c) Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, done at Geneva on July 2, 1999 within 5 years;
(d) Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, done at Madrid on June 27, 1989, within 3 years;
(e) Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, done at Marrakesh on June 27, 2013;
(f) Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, done at Paris on March 20, 1883, as revised at Stockholm on July 14, 1967;
(g) Patent Cooperation Treaty, done at Washington on June 19, 1970, as amended on September 28, 1979, and modified on February 3, 1984, within 5 years;
(h) Patent Law Treaty, done at Geneva on June 1, 2000, within 5 years;
(i) Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, done at Singapore on March 27, 2006, within 5 years;
(j) International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, done at Paris on December 2, 1961, as revised at Geneva on March 19, 1991, within 5 years;
(k) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, done at Geneva on December 20, 1996, within 5 years; and
(l) WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, done at Geneva on December 20, 1996, within 5 years.
Services and Investment
Article 1.15. Services
1. Within three years of entry into force of this Agreement, Bangladesh shall join and take effective actions to implement the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, including submitting its revised Specific Commitments for certification by the WTO.
2. Bangladesh shall remove mandatory reinsurance cession requirements, including obligations for U.S. insurers to reinsure at least 50% of their business with Sadharan Bima Corporation (SBC).
Article 1.16. Investment
1. Bangladesh shall liberalize its foreign equity caps for U.S. investment in oil and gas, insurance, and telecommunications.
2. Bangladesh shall facilitate U.S. investors receiving No Objection Certificates where they are required.
3. Bangladesh shall enhance the transparency and efficiency of approval processes for U.S. investors to transfer investment-related capital into and out of its territory in freely usable currency at the prevailing market rate of exchange, including by establishing and effectively implementing clear regulatory guidelines regarding the timelines for approvals.
4. Bangladesh shall address outstanding arrears to U.S. firms without delay and in line with its International Monetary Fund financing program commitments.
Good Regulatory Practices and Transparency
Article 1.17. Good Regulatory Practices
With respect to the adoption and implementation of good regulatory practices at the central level of government, Bangladesh shall:
(a) ensure that laws, regulations, procedures, and administrative rulings are promptly published and made easily accessible online;
(b) publish and make easily accessible online the text of proposed regulatory actions, as well as any regulatory impact analysis, an explanation of the regulation, and its objective;
(c) conduct public consultations for proposed regulatory actions in a transparent manner; allow adequate time for interested persons, domestic and foreign, to submit comments, taking into account the complexity or possible impact of the proposed regulation; and give consideration to comments received;
(d) give reasonable notice of planned regulatory actions and publish regulatory policy priorities that will be developed, modified, or eliminated in the near term;
(e) use publicly accessible high-quality data, evidence, technical information, and risk assessments, where appropriate, during the planning and development of regulation;
(f) support international regulatory cooperation through the use of, as appropriate, relevant international standards, guides, and recommendations to avoid unnecessary obstacles to trade;
(g) conduct reviews of regulation in effect to determine whether new information or other changes justify modification or repeal of regulation; and
(h) use tools, such as regulatory impact analysis, to assess the need for and possible impacts of regulations, which could also include alternative approaches to regulation, where appropriate.
Article 1.18. Anticorruption
To combat corruption, Bangladesh commits to strengthening, implementing, and enforcing comprehensive anti-corruption laws and regulations; to establishing clear penalties and consequences for individuals and entities engaged in corrupt practices; and to adopting and maintaining standards of conduct for the proper performance of public functions and the avoidance of conflicts of interest by public officials. In this regard, Bangladesh intends to implement and enforce transparent procurement processes, strengthen independent anti-corruption institutions, and uphold accountability through regular public reporting.
Labor
Article 1.19. Labor Laws and other Measures
1. Bangladesh shall amend the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA), and issue implementing rules to protect freedom of association and collective bargaining, including by:
(a) lowering the 20 percent registration threshold for union registration to a level that does not hinder union formation;
(b) requiring that the Director General of the Department of Labour (DOL) seek the approval of the Labor Court in order to cancel the registration of a union;
(c) limiting registration requirements for personal information on union members to a factory identification card with a number, a national identity card, or a birth registration certificate;
(d) requiring that in order for a union to be registered, it need hold only one general meeting to adopt a constitution, where a majority of members are present and submit meeting minutes;
(e) increasing fines for anti-union discrimination and unfair labor practices (ULPs) to a level sufficient to help deter employers from committing such acts;
(f) clarifying that the blacklisting of workers is prohibited as a ULP and that workers and unions can directly file ULP cases with Bangladesh labor courts; and
(g) removing unreasonable restrictions on the right to strike, including prohibitions on exercising the right to strike for any period after the opening of an establishment, and severe penalties, including imprisonment, for illegal strikes.
2. Bangladesh shall ensure workers in the export processing zones (EPZs) may fully exercise their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, including by:
(a) within two years of entry into force of this Agreement, making the EPZs subject to the BLA to allow for workers to form and join trade unions or extensively reforming the EPZ Labor Act to allow for the formation of independent unions; and
(b) making necessary amendments in the EPZ Labour Act, in alignment with BLA and international standards, so that there are no unreasonable restrictions on the right to strike, including prohibitions on exercising the right to strike for any period after the opening of an establishment, and severe penalties, including imprisonment, for illegal strikes.
3. Bangladesh shall resolve or withdraw, as appropriate, pending criminal cases filed against garment workers and labor leaders for engaging in legitimate union and protest activities, including pending criminal cases stemming from the 2023 minimum wage labor unrest.
4. Bangladesh shall adopt a transparent and regularized minimum wage review mechanism and shall conduct reviews through such mechanism within three years after entry into force of this Agreement and annually thereafter. In addition, Bangladesh shall provide interested parties the opportunity to provide their views during the development of the mechanism and in the conduct of its review.
5. To ensure that workers can effectively exercise their rights to freedom of association, Bangladesh shall:
(a) process union applications that meet administrative requirements within the legal requirement of 55 days;
(b) publish the status of all pending applications on the DOL?s existing online registration portal; and
(c) revise the standard operating procedures for registration to provide DOL officials with clear guidelines and ensure that the standard operating procedures are consistent with an amended BLA.
6. To facilitate the effective enforcement of its labor laws, Bangladesh shall:
(a) allot greater funding in its annual budget to increase the number of labor inspectors, approve an additional number of labor inspector posts, recruit and hire labor inspectors, and ensure there are promotion pathways for labor inspectors;
(b) ensure labor inspectors have the authority and resources to conduct unannounced inspections and can issue legal sanctions on all workplaces in Bangladesh, including in the EPZs, to address labor law violations, including those related to forced labor and child labor violations;
(c) increase fines and other sanctions to sufficient levels to help deter violations for failure to comply with domestic labor, fire, or building standards and codes; and
(d) expeditiously investigate and resolve violations of the BLA, including anti-union discrimination, retaliation, and other ULPs.
Environment
Article 1.20. Environmental Laws and Policies
Bangladesh shall ensure that its environmental laws and policies provide for, and encourage, high levels of environmental protection.
Article 1.21. Illegal Logging and Associated Trade
1. Bangladesh shall take measures to combat, and cooperate with the United States to prevent, trade in illegally harvested forest products. Such measures include those necessary to ensure full implementation of existing laws and regulations for forest sector governance and to strengthen, implement, and enforce comprehensive anti-corruption laws and regulations applicable to officials responsible for the administration and control of forest resources.
2. Bangladesh shall take actions to improve transparency in the forest sector by requiring a participatory process and public disclosure of forest management plans and logging permits through an accessible online platform.
Article 1.22. Resource Efficient Economy
Bangladesh shall take measures to promote a more resource efficient economy. Such measures may include addressing trade barriers that inhibit more resource efficient economies; encouraging innovation that promotes circularity, for example through improving resource efficiency in product design; and promoting trade facilitative approaches to enable reverse supply chains.
Article 1.23. Fisheries Subsidies
1. Bangladesh shall accept, as soon as possible, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) and the provisions contained therein, including the disciplines on certain forms of harmful fisheries subsidies, such as its provisions to prohibit subsidies to Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and to overfished stocks, and to enhance transparency and subsidy notifications.
2. After accepting the AFS, Bangladesh shall fully implement the obligations of the AFS, notwithstanding Article 12 of the AFS. 3. In addition, Bangladesh shall ensure its fisheries subsidies do not contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, including through the use of robust fisheries management regimes and reform of such subsidies.
Article 1.24. Sustainable Fisheries Management and IUU Fishing
1. Bangladesh shall operate a sustainable fisheries management system that regulates marine wild capture fishing and promotes the long-term conservation of marine species, including sharks, sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals.
2. Bangladesh shall strengthen enforcement of fisheries-related laws, regulations, and other measures to effectively combat IUU fishing and deter trade in products from IUU fishing, including through:
(a) implementing port state measures, including through actions consistent with the Port State Measures Agreement;
(b) adopting or strengthening measures to deter vessels flying its flag and its nationals from engaging in IUU fishing; and
(c) preventing the transshipment at sea of fish caught through IUU fishing or fish products derived from IUU fishing.
Article 1.25. Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade
Bangladesh shall take measures to combat, and cooperate to prevent, the trade of wild fauna and flora that were taken or traded in violation of that country?s law or another applicable law, including through the following actions:
(a) take measures to enhance the effectiveness of inspections of shipments containing wild fauna and flora, including parts and products thereof, at ports of entry;
(b) take measures to combat the trade of wild fauna and flora transshipped through its territory that, based on credible evidence, were illegally taken or traded; and
(c) treating intentional transnational trafficking of wild fauna and flora as a serious crime as defined in the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime.
Article 1.26. Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Bangladesh shall strengthen implementation of CITES to ensure legal and sustainable trade of CITES-listed species, including through finalization and submission to the CITES Secretariat, of draft national legislation to implement CITES.
Customs and Trade Facilitation
Article 1.27. Customs and Trade Facilitation
1. Bangladesh shall not deny the legal effect of a bill of lading issued by a private party to another private party for the carriage of goods solely on the basis that the bill of lading is in electronic format.
2. Bangladesh shall protect proprietary data submitted to Bangladesh Customs (National Board of Revenue) by U.S. traders from unauthorized disclosure.
3. For express shipments from the United States, Bangladesh shall implement the World Customs Organization Immediate Release Guidelines such that low-risk packages are released immediately upon arrival without transfer to a customs warehouse.
4. Bangladesh shall facilitate U.S. carriers or their agents in requesting amendments to their own Import General Manifest (IGM) data after the IGM is registered and facilitate evaluation of those requests by Bangladesh Customs.
5. Bangladesh shall fully implement Article 1.4 of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) on publication and availability of information.
6. Bangladesh shall submit its national customs valuation legislation and responses to the check-list of issues to the WTO consistent with Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.
7. Bangladesh shall establish or maintain a system that receives system-to-system electronic certification (eCert) data from USDA FSIS for exports of meat, poultry, Siluriformes, and egg products of the United States within a timeframe agreed by both parties.
Section 2. Digital Trade and Technology
1. Bangladesh shall recognize the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) System and Global Privacy Recognition for Processors (PRP) System certifications as valid mechanisms under its legal framework to transfer data across borders while protecting personal information and reducing compliance costs.
2. Bangladesh shall increase stakeholder consultations and shall ensure that feedback from both the U.S. government and U.S. private sector actors is duly considered during the formulation and revision of the Personal Data Protection Ordinance (PDPO).
3. Bangladesh shall incorporate adequate safeguards for the protection of freedom of expression under the Cyber Safety Ordinance 2025, and shall amend relevant legislation to impose stricter penalties for cybercrimes.
4. Bangladesh will amend or repeal the 2021 Regulation for Digital, Social Media, and Over the Top (OTT) Platforms to remove requirements for traceability within end-to-end encrypted services and for service suppliers to disclose encryption keys to government authorities and incorporate freedom of expression protections.
5. Bangladesh shall:
(a) open the upper 600 - 700-megahertz (MHz) of the 6 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band (6.425 ? 7.125 GHz) to license-exempt wireless/radio local area network (WLAN/RLAN) technologies for low power indoor (LPI) and very low power (VLP) device classes, consistent with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regulations; and
(b) within 30 days of official notification, consistent with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regulations, of the upper 6 GHz band being opened to low power WLAN/RLAN devices, open homologation process for certifying WLAN/RLAN devices operating in the 1100 - 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz spectrum band (5.925 - 7.125 GHz).