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Standing Committee on Ministry of Commerce

parliamentary_committee · partial (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
—
Role
Chairman
Annual budget
—
Staff
—
Established
1972
Legal basis
Constitution of Bangladesh, Article 76 (standing committees shall be appointed for each ministry); Jatiya Sangsad Rules of Procedure, Rules 190-230 (standing committees on ministries, constitution, quorum, powers of summoning witnesses, reporting to parliament).

The standing committee is constitutionally mandated but, as of 17 May 2026, no chairman or member list for the 13th parliament has been publicly confirmed. The ministry it shadows is simultaneously managing three interlocked trade-policy pressures: (1) reviewing and potentially renegotiating the February 2026 US-Bangladesh Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) before its contested IEEPA legal foundation collapses; (2) anchoring Bangladesh's LDC graduation deferment request at the UN CDP, with an ECOSOC review expected 10-11 June 2026; and (3) advancing EU GSP+ application ahead of the three-year EBA grace period expiry in November 2029, targeting GSP+ status by December 2027 to protect the RMG sector which accounts for over 80% of exports.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

The Standing Committee on Ministry of Commerce is a constitutionally mandated body (Article 76) that must be formed for each parliament; its Rules of Procedure mandate (Rules 190-230) gives it powers to summon witnesses, examine ministry officials, and report to the House. Under the 11th parliament (2019-2024), the committee was chaired by Awami League MP Tipu Munshi (former commerce minister); other members included businesspeople with textiles and tiles interests, which Prothom Alo reported raised conflict-of-interest concerns. For the 13th parliament (formed 12 February 2026 election, sworn 17 February 2026, first session 12 March to 30 April 2026), only five procedural committees were formed during the first session; ministry-level standing committees were pending a 14-member special scrutiny committee that operated in the interim. As of 17 May 2026, no primary source confirms the chairman or membership of the 13th parliament's Standing Committee on Ministry of Commerce; current_head and head_since are null accordingly. Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir (BNP, Sylhet-1, appointed 17 February 2026) holds the executive portfolio; he combines Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute in a single minister's brief. The three dominant live issues under the committee's oversight scope are: (a) the US-Bangladesh ART (signed 9 February 2026 by the Yunus interim government, now under Tarique government review via a 15-day FTA drafting committee constituted 12 May 2026, also challenged in the High Court by civil society and contested in parliament by independent MP Rumeen Farhana); (b) Bangladesh's LDC graduation scheduled for 24 November 2026, for which the government sought a 3-year UN CDP deferment on 18 February 2026 citing the July 2024 uprising, pandemic, and global shocks, with ECOSOC expected to weigh in at its 10-11 June 2026 meeting; (c) EU GSP+ application to replace EBA preferences before the 3-year grace period (November 2029) expires, with a government target of securing GSP+ by December 2027. The RMG sector (>80% of Bangladesh's $46 billion in exports, ~4 million workers) is the central policy object across all three issues. verification_status = partial because: current_head is unconfirmed, committee membership is unannounced, and the parliament.gov.bd committee pages for the 13th parliament were not accessible for direct confirmation.

Sources