BD-Indonesia PTA talks begin today

Bangladesh is starting talks with Indonesia today (Wednesday) for signing a preferential trade agreement (PTA) aiming to get duty-free access for its major exportable products to the market of the Southeast Asian nation, officials have said.

Bangladesh's annual exports to Indonesia account for around US$55 million (5.5 crore). Duties ranging between 5.0 per cent and 25 per cent are paid for the products' entry into the Indonesian market.

On the other hand, Bangladesh imports goods worth nearly $1.77 billion annually from Indonesia. Bangladesh's trade deficit with Indonesia is growing rapidly to the concern of trade officials.

A senior official at the ministry of commerce (MoC) told the FE that the adoption of terms of reference, discussion on draft text, work plan, timeline for exchange of tariff lines, modality and offer list would come up for discussion during the two-day talks.

The two sides were planning to sign the PTA by July next year, he said.

He also said during the PTA negotiations Dhaka would try to get duty-free market access for products which Indonesia imports from other countries and Bangladesh has the capacity to produce those.

Presently jute yarn and fibre, jute bags, garment items, lead-acid accumulators, and tobacco dominate Bangladesh's exports to Indonesia, statistics available with the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) show.

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