Developing countries urged to open markets for LDCs to cut trade gaps
Sunday, 28 October 2007
Foreign Secretary (FS) Touhid Hossain called upon the developed countries to provide duty-free and quota-free market access of all products from all least developed countries (LDCs) without any restrictions, reports UNB.
He made the call while he was making a statement on Friday on behalf of the 50 LDCs at the debate of the Economic and Financial Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on international trade and development, said a message received in Dhaka Saturday.
He said LDCs were increasingly marginalised in the North-South trade as well as in the South-South trade.
He urged the developing countries to open their markets for LDCs to reduce the existing trade gaps.
The FS expressed his concern that despite significant efforts, the share of the 50 LDCs in the global merchandise trade had reached only 0.83 per cent in 2006.
He said export share of the LDCs was 2.5 per cent in 1960. He said the current trading system is not in favour of LDCs.
This is, apart from other reasons, because of a wide array of harmful subsidies, non-tariff restrictions, fluctuation in the terms of trade, artificial standards imposed by industrialised countries, he added. He underscored the importance of revising these restrictions.
Touhid Hossain said the service sector had huge potentials in the international trade, but the LDCs could not reap the benefits.
He called upon the developed countries to liberalise their markets for all categories of service providers of the LDCs, in particular under mode 4 of GATS.
Underscoring the importance of capacity building of the LDCs, the FS said that the 'Aid for Trade' initiative should support the LDCs in their trade capacity building and full compensation for the erosion of preferences.
About intellectual property rights, he said the current regime mostly favour the producers and holders of IPRs and does imply a big challenge to LDCs' access to knowledge, technological learning and innovation.
He said in order to benefit from modern technologies, LDCs need full flexibility under TRIPS agreement and international community must consider further waivers and new and realistic deadlines for compliance with the TRIPS agreement.
He called upon the member states of the WTO to conclude the Doha negotiations at the earliest and stressed that the special needs and interests of the LDCs must be placed at the heart of the Doha Round and its final outcome.
He made the call while he was making a statement on Friday on behalf of the 50 LDCs at the debate of the Economic and Financial Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on international trade and development, said a message received in Dhaka Saturday.
He said LDCs were increasingly marginalised in the North-South trade as well as in the South-South trade.
He urged the developing countries to open their markets for LDCs to reduce the existing trade gaps.
The FS expressed his concern that despite significant efforts, the share of the 50 LDCs in the global merchandise trade had reached only 0.83 per cent in 2006.
He said export share of the LDCs was 2.5 per cent in 1960. He said the current trading system is not in favour of LDCs.
This is, apart from other reasons, because of a wide array of harmful subsidies, non-tariff restrictions, fluctuation in the terms of trade, artificial standards imposed by industrialised countries, he added. He underscored the importance of revising these restrictions.
Touhid Hossain said the service sector had huge potentials in the international trade, but the LDCs could not reap the benefits.
He called upon the developed countries to liberalise their markets for all categories of service providers of the LDCs, in particular under mode 4 of GATS.
Underscoring the importance of capacity building of the LDCs, the FS said that the 'Aid for Trade' initiative should support the LDCs in their trade capacity building and full compensation for the erosion of preferences.
About intellectual property rights, he said the current regime mostly favour the producers and holders of IPRs and does imply a big challenge to LDCs' access to knowledge, technological learning and innovation.
He said in order to benefit from modern technologies, LDCs need full flexibility under TRIPS agreement and international community must consider further waivers and new and realistic deadlines for compliance with the TRIPS agreement.
He called upon the member states of the WTO to conclude the Doha negotiations at the earliest and stressed that the special needs and interests of the LDCs must be placed at the heart of the Doha Round and its final outcome.