Agreement offering regional transit facility to landlocked members likely
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Nazmul Ahsan
An agreement on Trade in Goods under the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area, providing for regional transit facilities among member countries with certain bias towards landlocked ones, is likely to be signed at the upcoming BIMSTEC ministerial meeting.
The 12th ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is scheduled to be held in Myanmar capital, Nay Pyi Taw, in the latter part of the next month, sources in the commerce ministry said.
'The parties agree to consider transit facilities for promoting effective intra-BIMSTEC trade, especially for the landlocked member countries,' reads the article-9, under the caption of 'Goods in Transit' of the proposed agreement.
Besides, three more agreements relating to trade facilitation and Customs cooperation would be placed at the ministerial meeting for signing, commerce ministry sources said.
Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan are the member countries of the BIMSTEC and signatories to the Framework Agreement on the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area.
The BIMSTEC was signed in 1997 and the Agreement on the BIMSTEC FTA was signed in February 2004.
Trade officials said the delegation of Bangladesh during the last negotiations all along resisted inclusion of the issue of transit in the final draft agreement, but failed to withstand pressures from some other member countries.
"We (Bangladesh) could include clauses in our interest at the time modalities relating to implementing bilateral transit deal under the agreement on Trade in Goods," a Tariff Commission official told the FE.
Separate agreements between member countries on modalities of transit facilities to be signed later once the proposed agreement on Trade in Goods is signed at the next ministerial meeting, sources said.
The draft agreement, which was finalized in July at the 18th Trade Negotiating Committee meeting in New Delhi, is set to be placed at the cabinet meeting soon for approval, sources said.
"We have to complete the formalities like approval of the cabinet and vetting by the law ministry before the scheduled BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting in October," a top official in the commerce ministry told the FE.
The Article-15 of the proposed agreement has tried to remove non-tariff barriers often erected in the name of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measure (SPS).
'The parties shall ensure that their SPS measures are not used as unnecessary obstacles to trade while providing appropriate level of protection of human, animal or plant life or health in the territories of the parties,' reads the final draft of the agreement.
The agreement mentioned that if any member country used subsidies and countervailing measures would have to comply with relevant rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
A joint committee will be formed under the agreement to oversee the implementation status of the agreement, which is likely to be effective from January1 2010 the draft agreement said.
The special and differential (S&D) treatment will be given for least developed countries (LDCs) under the trade pact, sources said.
The special treatment will be offered to LDCs at the time of fixing value addition criteria to be determined later, trade officials said.
According to the negotiated draft of the agreement on Trade in Goods, duty reduction among member countries will begin from July 1, 2010.
Three developing member countries of the trade block--India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, will implement full duty exemption facility for products originating from four LDCs-Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, to their markets, by June 30, 2011.
On the other hand, according to the same agreement, LDCc falling under the trade pact will give the similar duty facility to the developing member countries by June 30, 2013.
The duty reduction will be implemented as per the 'negative' list concept, the draft said.
An agreement on Trade in Goods under the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area, providing for regional transit facilities among member countries with certain bias towards landlocked ones, is likely to be signed at the upcoming BIMSTEC ministerial meeting.
The 12th ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is scheduled to be held in Myanmar capital, Nay Pyi Taw, in the latter part of the next month, sources in the commerce ministry said.
'The parties agree to consider transit facilities for promoting effective intra-BIMSTEC trade, especially for the landlocked member countries,' reads the article-9, under the caption of 'Goods in Transit' of the proposed agreement.
Besides, three more agreements relating to trade facilitation and Customs cooperation would be placed at the ministerial meeting for signing, commerce ministry sources said.
Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan are the member countries of the BIMSTEC and signatories to the Framework Agreement on the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area.
The BIMSTEC was signed in 1997 and the Agreement on the BIMSTEC FTA was signed in February 2004.
Trade officials said the delegation of Bangladesh during the last negotiations all along resisted inclusion of the issue of transit in the final draft agreement, but failed to withstand pressures from some other member countries.
"We (Bangladesh) could include clauses in our interest at the time modalities relating to implementing bilateral transit deal under the agreement on Trade in Goods," a Tariff Commission official told the FE.
Separate agreements between member countries on modalities of transit facilities to be signed later once the proposed agreement on Trade in Goods is signed at the next ministerial meeting, sources said.
The draft agreement, which was finalized in July at the 18th Trade Negotiating Committee meeting in New Delhi, is set to be placed at the cabinet meeting soon for approval, sources said.
"We have to complete the formalities like approval of the cabinet and vetting by the law ministry before the scheduled BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting in October," a top official in the commerce ministry told the FE.
The Article-15 of the proposed agreement has tried to remove non-tariff barriers often erected in the name of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measure (SPS).
'The parties shall ensure that their SPS measures are not used as unnecessary obstacles to trade while providing appropriate level of protection of human, animal or plant life or health in the territories of the parties,' reads the final draft of the agreement.
The agreement mentioned that if any member country used subsidies and countervailing measures would have to comply with relevant rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
A joint committee will be formed under the agreement to oversee the implementation status of the agreement, which is likely to be effective from January1 2010 the draft agreement said.
The special and differential (S&D) treatment will be given for least developed countries (LDCs) under the trade pact, sources said.
The special treatment will be offered to LDCs at the time of fixing value addition criteria to be determined later, trade officials said.
According to the negotiated draft of the agreement on Trade in Goods, duty reduction among member countries will begin from July 1, 2010.
Three developing member countries of the trade block--India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, will implement full duty exemption facility for products originating from four LDCs-Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, to their markets, by June 30, 2011.
On the other hand, according to the same agreement, LDCc falling under the trade pact will give the similar duty facility to the developing member countries by June 30, 2013.
The duty reduction will be implemented as per the 'negative' list concept, the draft said.