Preparation under way to start negotiations
Friday, 5 November 2010
Nazmul Ahsan
The government has taken a positive stance on the US proposal to sign an agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum.
The US government sent the proposal to the Ministry of Commerce about six months back following the incumbent government's reluctance to sign the Trade and investment Framework Agreement (Tifa) amid controversies, a top foreign official said.
A four-member committee comprising high officials of the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce is now working on the formulation of a policy paper (PP) to help negotiations with the US on the proposed agreement, it is learnt.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assigned Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes and Commerce Secretary Ghulam Hussain to finalise the draft PP before initiating talks with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the proposed agreement.
The PP on the proposed draft agreement is expected to be finalized very soon. It will then be sent to the Prime Minister for approval, a top official, who is involved with the preparation of the document, said.
"We need a discussion forum between Dhaka and Washington as both the countries are committed to the task of combating terrorism, stopping terrorist financing and bolstering democratic culture," said Dr.Mashiur Rahman, Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister.
"The first round talks with the US on the proposed Forum will begin after the finalization of the PP", he said.
Bangladesh can reap benefit from such an agreement with the US since it would help transfer of US technology in the areas of energy and gas, Mashiur added.
It is learnt that the draft PP on Cooperation Forum would be containing the detailed and alternative options with regard to different issues including labour, intellectual property rights act and environment related ones that are expected to be part of the proposed agreement.
"Negotiations on the proposed agreement will be conducted methodically as we will have several options and guidelines on each and every clauses of the proposed agreement," a committee member said, preferring anonymity.
"We need a broad-based agreement with the US to cover trade, investment and other bilateral issues through the Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, that is unlikely to trigger controversies," another top official in the MoFA said.
Earlier, the incumbent government in April declined to sign the Tifa as the agreement has a number of clauses, which had given rise to controversies.
Officials in the foreign ministry said the new draft agreement of Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum proposed by the US has a number of clauses almost similar to those of the Tifa.
"I have not found any major changes in the new draft but found a sort of relaxed position in their implementation status of a number of disputed areas'', a commerce ministry official said.
He said issues like labour and intellectual property rights, which were included in Tifa and opposed by the government, have been incorporated in the new draft, however, in different forms.
But a senior foreign official claimed that there were some definite changes in new draft.
"There will be a professional approach to uphold the interest of the country as the negotiation will be based on a policy paper. The negotiations on Tifa lacked such an approach", he said.
"We will sign new agreement with the US to gain something not to loose anything," he asserted.
The United States is the single largest export destination of Bangladesh with an annual export earning of above $4.0 billion or about 40 per cent of the Bangladesh's total annual export.
The last round of Tifa negotiations was held in Dhaka in October, 2009. The Assistant US Trade Representative Michael J. Delaney led the US team at the talks.
Commerce Minister Faruk following his meeting with Delaney had told the reporters that the labour, intellectual property rights and environment clauses put in the proposed TIFA draft needed revision to help safeguard the country's interest.
The government has taken a positive stance on the US proposal to sign an agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum.
The US government sent the proposal to the Ministry of Commerce about six months back following the incumbent government's reluctance to sign the Trade and investment Framework Agreement (Tifa) amid controversies, a top foreign official said.
A four-member committee comprising high officials of the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce is now working on the formulation of a policy paper (PP) to help negotiations with the US on the proposed agreement, it is learnt.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assigned Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes and Commerce Secretary Ghulam Hussain to finalise the draft PP before initiating talks with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the proposed agreement.
The PP on the proposed draft agreement is expected to be finalized very soon. It will then be sent to the Prime Minister for approval, a top official, who is involved with the preparation of the document, said.
"We need a discussion forum between Dhaka and Washington as both the countries are committed to the task of combating terrorism, stopping terrorist financing and bolstering democratic culture," said Dr.Mashiur Rahman, Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister.
"The first round talks with the US on the proposed Forum will begin after the finalization of the PP", he said.
Bangladesh can reap benefit from such an agreement with the US since it would help transfer of US technology in the areas of energy and gas, Mashiur added.
It is learnt that the draft PP on Cooperation Forum would be containing the detailed and alternative options with regard to different issues including labour, intellectual property rights act and environment related ones that are expected to be part of the proposed agreement.
"Negotiations on the proposed agreement will be conducted methodically as we will have several options and guidelines on each and every clauses of the proposed agreement," a committee member said, preferring anonymity.
"We need a broad-based agreement with the US to cover trade, investment and other bilateral issues through the Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, that is unlikely to trigger controversies," another top official in the MoFA said.
Earlier, the incumbent government in April declined to sign the Tifa as the agreement has a number of clauses, which had given rise to controversies.
Officials in the foreign ministry said the new draft agreement of Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum proposed by the US has a number of clauses almost similar to those of the Tifa.
"I have not found any major changes in the new draft but found a sort of relaxed position in their implementation status of a number of disputed areas'', a commerce ministry official said.
He said issues like labour and intellectual property rights, which were included in Tifa and opposed by the government, have been incorporated in the new draft, however, in different forms.
But a senior foreign official claimed that there were some definite changes in new draft.
"There will be a professional approach to uphold the interest of the country as the negotiation will be based on a policy paper. The negotiations on Tifa lacked such an approach", he said.
"We will sign new agreement with the US to gain something not to loose anything," he asserted.
The United States is the single largest export destination of Bangladesh with an annual export earning of above $4.0 billion or about 40 per cent of the Bangladesh's total annual export.
The last round of Tifa negotiations was held in Dhaka in October, 2009. The Assistant US Trade Representative Michael J. Delaney led the US team at the talks.
Commerce Minister Faruk following his meeting with Delaney had told the reporters that the labour, intellectual property rights and environment clauses put in the proposed TIFA draft needed revision to help safeguard the country's interest.