Embassy of the United States Dhaka, Bangladesh

Exporting to Bangladesh

President Obama announced the National Export Initiative (NEI) http://www.export.gov/ in 2010, with the goal of doubling exports by 2014. The U.S. Embassy in Dhaka is committed to supporting U.S. companies to start exporting or grow their exports to Bangladesh. In this section, you’ll find a quick description of Bangladesh as an export market and some suggestions for getting started.

Getting Started

1. Information on Business Climate: You can get information on the Business / Investment Climate of Bangladesh by logging in to the following links.
   
   
   • Country Commercial Guide: A comprehensive report on the commercial, economic and political environment in Bangladesh. The report contains detailed market analysis, as well as information on trade regulations, business travel, and an assessment of the country’s overall investment climate. 
   • Investment Climate Statement: A detailed review of the investment climate in Bangladesh including information on the legal framework, regulatory issues, intellectual property rights, dispute resolution mechanisms and financial markets.  
   • Market Research on Bangladesh


2. U.S. Trade Center (USTC) works with the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service to offer a variety of fee-based commercial services to U.S. firms pursuing export and investment opportunities in Bangladesh:
   
   
   • Gold Key Matching Service:  Services to visiting U.S. business executives to arrange meetings, briefings and logistical support in order to make their visit to Bangladesh as productive as possible.
   • International Company Profile (ICP): A confidential business report providing background information on individual firms in Bangladesh .  Each report includes information on company activities, product lines, volume of operations, business reputation, and trade references.
   • International Partnership Search (IPS): Identifies and provides background information on qualified Bangladeshi firms willing to represent U.S. companies in Bangladesh.  Depending on the U.S. company interests, the USTC can prepare a list of companies in Bangladesh with relevant experience and capabilities.
   • Advertizing and Promotional Events: The U.S. Trade Center can help U.S. firms to ensure that potential customers and business partners recognize the existence, availability and benefits of your company's products/services.  The U.S. Embassy collaborates with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Bangladesh to co-sponsor the annual U.S. Trade Show where U.S. firms can showcase the U.S. goods and services distributed in Bangladesh. American firms or their local agents interested in purchasing a booth to display their goods and services at the U.S. Trade Show should contact the American Chamber (phone: 880-2-833-0001 or 880-2-835-8060; fax 880-2-934-9217 or 880-2-831-2975; email amcham@amchambd.org).

   U.S. companies can request these commercial services by contacting the USTC or the nearest U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center in the U.S.

3. U.S. Government Advocacy: U.S. firms may submit an Advocacy Questionnaire to request U.S. Government advocacy support to level the playing field on behalf of U.S. business interests as they compete against foreign firms for specific international contracts in Bangladesh. U.S. companies interested in advocacy support may contact the U.S. Trade Center or the Department of Commerce’s Advocacy Center at 202-482-3896. More information is available on the Advocacy Center’s website: www.export.gov/advocacy.

4. Contact in-country business support organizations:
   American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AMCHAM) 
   Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Indsutry (FICCI)

Investing in Bangladesh

This section provides information for current and potential investors in Bangladesh.

Potential Investors: Getting Started

If you are considering investment in Bangladesh, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:

• Register with the US embassy – if you are planning a visit to consider investment, let us know by sending an email to USTC-Dhaka@state.gov
• Visit the Board of Investment website at http://www.boi.gov.bd/ for foreign investors’ registration details.
• Contact local U.S. business support organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (http://www.amchambd.org/)
• Subscribe to our U.S. Embassy-Dhaka Facebook page to keep informed about the Embassy activities.

Current Investors: Staying Connected

If you are a current U.S. investor in Bangladesh, the U.S Embassy wants to stay in touch. Here are a few steps you can take to keep the channels of communication open:

• Registrar with the U.S. Embassy – if you are active in Bangladesh, let us know by sending an email to USTC-Dhaka@state.gov
• Add us to your mailing lists – we are always happy to stay informed
• Subscribe to U.S. Embassy-Dhaka Facebook page to keep informed about U.S. Embassy activities.

Working in Bangladesh

In this section you will find information on business visas, travel advisories, and anti-corruption tools.

Business Visas

For information on obtaining a visa to visit Bangladesh, check http://www.immi.gov.bd/ for details. U.S. visitors may also consult the website for the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington at http://www.bdembassyusa.org/

Travel Advisories

Make sure to check the current State Department Travel Advisory.

FCPA

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is an important anti-corruption tool designed to discourage corrupt business practices in favor of free and fair markets.  The FCPA prohibits promising, offering, giving or authorizing giving anything of value to a foreign government official where the purpose is to obtain or retain business.  These prohibitions apply to U.S. persons, both individuals and companies, and companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges. The statute also requires companies publicly traded in the U.S. to keep accurate books and records and implement appropriate internal controls.  

More information on the FCPA can be found here:  http://www.fcpa.us/

A party to a transaction seeking to know whether a proposed course of conduct would violate the FCPA can take advantage of the opinion procedure established by the statue.  Within 30 days of receiving a description of a proposed course of conduct in writing, the Attorney General will provide the party with a written opinion on whether the proposed conduct would violate the FCPA.  Not only do opinions provide the requesting party with a rebuttable presumption that the conduct does not violate the FCPA, but DOJ publishes past opinions which can provide guidance for other companies facing similar situations.

More information on the DOJ opinion procedure can be found here: http://www.morganlewis.com/documents/fcpa/FCPAOpinionProcedureReleases.pdf