Around $7.6 million in export earnings owed to 14 Bangladeshi knitwear exporters have been stuck in Russia for over a year due to a shortage of US dollars faced by Russian importers, according to the President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
Speaking during the unveiling of his electoral manifesto in Dhaka, Hatem suggested that the Bangladeshi government could offset these dues by using Russia’s outstanding loan repayments for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project. He emphasized that this would offer timely financial relief to the affected exporters. The stalled payments are a direct result of severe US sanctions on Russia, which have drastically limited its access to US-dollar-based international transactions.
In addition to external financial constraints, several domestic challenges for exporters, particularly in the knitwear sector. Tthe advance income tax (AIT) system as lacking a proper adjustment mechanism, and described Bangladesh’s tax structure as “complex and investor-unfriendly.” Despite the sector’s nominal 12% corporate tax rate, businesses often face a much higher effective tax burden due to procedural complexities.
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