Opinion
In February 2026, a few days before the parliamentary elections, the then illegal interim regime led by Yunus signed an agreement in secret. Yunus and his agents with foreign passports borrowed from abroad presented it as a major success. Reputable newspapers in Bangladesh running under their direction published that,
“Taxes on Bangladeshi products will be reduced from 37% to 19%.”
“This is really a big relief for a country that gets 84% of its foreign exchange earnings from garment exports.”
But economists and experts are warning with concern. Behind that headline is a long list of conditions — which will force Bangladesh to spend billions of dollars, open the country’s market to foreign goods, and tie the country’s foreign policy to various unknown conditions for decades. And since the current BNP and Jamaat went to parliament in that election by banning the Awami League, according to the BNP’s foreign minister, BNP and Jamaat have directly handed Bangladesh over to others and come to power.
What did Bangladesh get?
A tariff cut. Import duties on Bangladeshi products — mainly ready-made garments — will be reduced from 37% to 19%. Theoretically, this will make Bangladeshi garments cheaper in that country’s market and allow them to compete with Vietnam and India.
What did Bangladesh bring — and how much will it cost?
1. The $3 billion aircraft purchase order — which no one wanted
As a condition of the agreement, Biman Bangladesh Airlines will have to buy 14 aircraft — with an option to buy 11 more. The total cost is about 37 thousand crore taka (about 3 billion dollars) . Biman’s own officials reportedly learned of this decision through media reports — the Yunus-Jamaat regime did not inform them beforehand.
At a time when Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves are already under pressure, this deal is only possible if the loan is given in US dollars. That will keep Bangladesh stuck in the foreign debt trap for a longer period of time. Even a few days ago, Bangladesh was an unparalleled example in the world with its debt-to-GDP ratio, but in the future, the entire 180 million people will have to bear the burden of interest on this debt. Although no one even thought it necessary to ask them.
2. Gas purchase agreement at a high price for 15 years
Bangladesh has signed a 15-year agreement to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth a total of $15 billion from Excelerate Energy. The price set in the agreement is $15.69 per MMBTU .
The problem is: At the time of signing the agreement, the global spot price of LNG was only $ 9.50- $ 9.93 . This means that Bangladesh will be forced to buy this gas at a price that is about 60% higher than what it would have been able to get on the open market — and that for 15 years. This is also in direct conflict with the country’s long-term goal of transitioning to renewable energy.
Although it is not known what other conditions have been attached to this, due to the scarcity of foreign exchange reserves, there are many conditions for loans in foreign currency for such inter-country agreements. This means that here too, additional foreign debt will be imposed on the shoulders of the people.
3. Buying American wheat at a price higher than the market price
According to the agreement, Bangladesh will have to buy 700,000 tons of US wheat every year for five years , at a price of $308 per ton . At that time , the price of wheat in the international market was only $ 226-230 per ton .
This difference — an additional $80 per ton — will ultimately be borne by someone: either the government (whose budget is already under pressure), or the common people — through higher prices for flour and bread.
4. Fully opening up the Bangladesh market
In exchange for tariff reductions, Bangladesh has agreed to completely eliminate tariffs on about 7,500 types of US products by 2035. This means that within a decade, US agricultural, livestock, industrial and manufactured goods will enter Bangladesh almost duty-free. Bangladesh will not be able to adopt any competitive policies against all these products.
Bangladesh’s industries depend on this tariff protection to survive. This could be devastating, especially for farmers.
At the same time, the government will also lose a major source of tax revenue, when the country’s fiscal situation is already fragile. It is worth remembering here that the Yunus-Jamaat regime has already destroyed the country’s revenue revenue.
5. Geopolitical trap
The most important — and least discussed — part of the agreement concerns Bangladesh’s relations with other countries.
The agreement includes a clause that bars Bangladesh from entering into new trade deals with “countries the United States dislikes” — language widely understood to refer to China and Russia. Bangladesh could also face problems buying nuclear reactors for power generation from China or Russia.
This is a serious limitation. China is Bangladesh’s largest import source and a key partner in infrastructure development.
These provisions effectively force Bangladesh to choose a side in a geopolitical conflict between foreign powers, a stark contrast to Bangladesh’s carefully balanced foreign policy that it has maintained for decades.
6. Agreement signed in the dark
How this deal was finalized is as important as the content of the deal. The negotiations were conducted under a secrecy agreement , which meant that no one — economists, business groups, civil society, and the general public — knew the terms of the negotiations until the deal was signed. There was no parliamentary review, no public opinion poll, no national debate.
The most important thing is,
The agreement was signed on February 9, 2026 — just three days before national elections — by an interim government whose sole responsibility was to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
The elected government now inherits a multi-billion dollar deal that it had no part in negotiating — and the scope for renegotiation is extremely limited.
Many believe that Tarique Rahman, who is banned from entering the United States as a “dangerous person”, was brought back to the country by BNP and Jamaat, leaving political forces like Awami League and Jatiya Party out, to give legitimacy to this agreement in parliament. Jamaat, Shibir and NCP have kept the mobs running to maintain the culture of fear among the people. The army has not been withdrawn either.
Experts are not saying that there is nothing in the agreement. The tariff exemption for the garment sector is real and meaningful. But the question that is going around in Dhaka’s economic circles is:
Did Bangladesh negotiate this agreement , or just agree to an agreement ?
Was an unelected, interim government qualified to make such a major decision — one that unconditionally handed over the country’s economy, energy policy, and foreign relations to foreigners for generations to come?
Those in power today have defamed Sheikh Hasina by saying that she sold the country to India. No one has been able to show any evidence to support this argument. Yet, before our eyes, the country has now become a market for Indian and US products, and no one has even asked a question.
Now, would it be very wrong to argue that,
Was the July uprising intended to sell out Bangladesh,
force Sheikh Hasina to leave the country, and ensure the fall of her government by killing students?
https://stapravda.ru/20221228/reyting_samyh_populyarnyh_hostingov_v_rossii_196445.html, рейтинг хостингов России подтверждает, что выбор надежного провайдера важен для бизнеса.