Dhaka finalises request-list on 'sensitive' items of other SAFTA members
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Nazmul Ahsan
Bangladesh has finalised its own request-list of 755 items for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of seven member countries of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, official sources said.
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) in consultation with Tariff Commission (TC) and other stakeholders in the private sector has recently finalised the request-list. The list will soon be sent to the SAARC secretariat, sources said.
According to the list, Dhaka will seek exclusion of 61 'sensitive' items from the list of India, 176 from Pakistan, 182 from Nepal, 10 from Bhutan, 68 of Maldives, 106 from Afghanistan and the remaining 152 items to be sought for exclusion from the list of Sri Lanka, sources said.
A recent meeting, presided over by Dr. Mujibur Rahman, Chairman, TC, has finalised the request-list.
"We have finalised the list for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of other seven member countries of SAFTA as per the decision taken in the last Expert Committee meeting of SAFTA, held in Katmandu in January last," a top TC official told the FE.
"We are expecting that the lists of 'sensitive' items of the SAARC member countries will be trimmed as per the request lists by the next month to make the regional trade pact more meaningful."
Presently, the total number of 'sensitive' items on the lists of seven member countries of the SAARC is 5851. Bangladesh has put 1100 items on its own 'sensitive' list.
The SAFTA agreement came into effect from January 1, 2006 under which tariff concession started from July 1 of the same year.
According to the SAFTA charter, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, which are enjoying the least developed country (LDC) status, will lower their tariff on imports from within the bloc to a level between 0 and 5 per cent by 2016, while the remaining three member countries of the agreement - India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, having the status of 'developing' countries will do the same by 2010.
Afghanistan, another LDC, joined the regional trade liberalization programme later.
Officials in the MoC said the lists prepared by Dhaka for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of other member countries include the products which have export potential in South Asian countries.
The major items that have been proposed by Bangladesh for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of other member countries include woven garments, knitwear, electrical items, Jamdani saree, tea, jute products, raw jute, edible grade soybean oil, refined palm oil/palm olein, aviation turbine fuel and fuel oil, natural rubber (smoked sheets), toilet or facial tissue stock, sanitary napkin, paper or paperboard labels of all kinds and silk fabrics.
Besides, women's or girls' blouses, girls' skirts and divided skirts, overalls and shorts for boys', girls' and women's, men's or boy's cotton nightshirts and pajamas, women's or girls' night dresses and cotton pajamas, swimwear for boys, girls and women, tracksuits, made-up clothing accessories and brassieres of all types of textile materials have also been included in the request lists.
Officials said after trimming the sensitive lists of respective countries, another round of negotiation on tariff concession might start shortly.
Bangladesh has finalised its own request-list of 755 items for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of seven member countries of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, official sources said.
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) in consultation with Tariff Commission (TC) and other stakeholders in the private sector has recently finalised the request-list. The list will soon be sent to the SAARC secretariat, sources said.
According to the list, Dhaka will seek exclusion of 61 'sensitive' items from the list of India, 176 from Pakistan, 182 from Nepal, 10 from Bhutan, 68 of Maldives, 106 from Afghanistan and the remaining 152 items to be sought for exclusion from the list of Sri Lanka, sources said.
A recent meeting, presided over by Dr. Mujibur Rahman, Chairman, TC, has finalised the request-list.
"We have finalised the list for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of other seven member countries of SAFTA as per the decision taken in the last Expert Committee meeting of SAFTA, held in Katmandu in January last," a top TC official told the FE.
"We are expecting that the lists of 'sensitive' items of the SAARC member countries will be trimmed as per the request lists by the next month to make the regional trade pact more meaningful."
Presently, the total number of 'sensitive' items on the lists of seven member countries of the SAARC is 5851. Bangladesh has put 1100 items on its own 'sensitive' list.
The SAFTA agreement came into effect from January 1, 2006 under which tariff concession started from July 1 of the same year.
According to the SAFTA charter, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, which are enjoying the least developed country (LDC) status, will lower their tariff on imports from within the bloc to a level between 0 and 5 per cent by 2016, while the remaining three member countries of the agreement - India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, having the status of 'developing' countries will do the same by 2010.
Afghanistan, another LDC, joined the regional trade liberalization programme later.
Officials in the MoC said the lists prepared by Dhaka for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of other member countries include the products which have export potential in South Asian countries.
The major items that have been proposed by Bangladesh for exclusion from the lists of 'sensitive' items of other member countries include woven garments, knitwear, electrical items, Jamdani saree, tea, jute products, raw jute, edible grade soybean oil, refined palm oil/palm olein, aviation turbine fuel and fuel oil, natural rubber (smoked sheets), toilet or facial tissue stock, sanitary napkin, paper or paperboard labels of all kinds and silk fabrics.
Besides, women's or girls' blouses, girls' skirts and divided skirts, overalls and shorts for boys', girls' and women's, men's or boy's cotton nightshirts and pajamas, women's or girls' night dresses and cotton pajamas, swimwear for boys, girls and women, tracksuits, made-up clothing accessories and brassieres of all types of textile materials have also been included in the request lists.
Officials said after trimming the sensitive lists of respective countries, another round of negotiation on tariff concession might start shortly.