Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has proposed a series of sweeping trade measures aimed at modernizing the country's jewelry industry and diversifying the national export basket by granting export-oriented manufacturers easier access to duty-free raw materials.

While placing the historic BDT 9.38 lakh crore national budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) in the National Parliament on Thursday, the Finance Minister announced that a fresh notification would soon be issued under the bonded warehouse system.

This new directive will explicitly allow the duty-free import of raw materials designated for jewelry production, paving the way for the subsequent export of finished jewelry in a transparent, orderly, and compliant manner.

In a major move to further expand export-driven manufacturing and look beyond traditional sectors, Amir Khosru proposed allowing 10 brand-new industrial sectors to import raw materials against bank guarantees, completely bypassing the standard requirement of obtaining a bond license.

The 10 newly included sectors are:

Motorcycles

Speedboats

Fish processing

Handicrafts

Diversified jute products

Diapers and sanitary napkins

Crockery

Tents

Recycled cotton bags

Terry towels

To drastically cut down regulatory red tape for these businesses, the Minister also proposed completely abolishing the existing legal requirement of a minimum 30 percent value addition on products manufactured using duty-free raw materials imported against bank guarantees without a bond license.

Amir Khosru emphasized that these aggressive regulatory rollbacks are strategically designed to accelerate overall export growth, foster rapid industrial diversification, and significantly enhance Bangladesh's competitive edge in the global marketplace.