China’s accession to the WTO: Consequences for Bangladesh’s export-oriented RMG sector

China’s long march to the WTO has been closely followed by other member countries with great interest, and in some cases, great concern. On the one hand, many countries are optimistic that China’s entry into a rule-based system will be beneficial to the global trading system and there will be important positive externalities as a result. On the other hand, China’s accession to the WTO is a source of concern for many countries, which perceive China as a threat to their presence in the global market. Bangladesh, in many ways epitomises this guarded approach to the issue. As is well known, Bangladesh’s major strength in the external sector is the textiles and clothing sector, particularly the ready-made garments (RMG) sector. In the context of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) negotiated during the Uruguay Round, Bangladesh’s RMG sector is going to face formidable challenges in the global market specifically in view of the phasing out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) under