Tariff Commission to have new name, expanded responsibilities
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Nazmul Ahsan
The activities and the name of Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) are likely to be changed soon to help the organisation keep up with the contemporary trend of global trade and business, officials in the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said.
The name to be proposed for the BTC is the 'Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC)'. The MoC will soon send the new name and revised allocation of business for the BTTC to the Cabinet Division for approval, a source said.
According to the proposed function, the BTTC will analyse the trend of external trade and advise the government on the right kind of policies. It will focus on multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements and advise the government on its stance at different trade-related forums, an official said.
The BTTC will be given the responsibility to draft all sorts of modalities of negotiations for both ongoing and future trade related agreements, he said.
Besides, the proposed BTTC will examine product and sector-wise potentials for the purpose of exports, identify hindrances to trade growth and recommend the ways to get rid of the same and policy matters, he added.
"These new areas of activities will be additional to what the BTC is doing now," a top official in the MoC said.
"Many countries including India and Thailand have such single organisation to deal with both the trade and tariff issues."
The BTC was established in 1992 to protect the local industry from dumping of imported goods, encourage local manufacturing sector through providing tariff protection and to ensure proper use of local industrial products.
However, the BTC since its inception could not contribute up to the expectation due mainly shortage of manpower and dearth of their expertise in trade and tariff , sources said.
The revised allocation of business for the commission has provided for appointment of manpower with having expertise in trade and commerce.
'The commission will have better manpower if the revised draft is approved,' hoped an commerce ministry official.
"The new Commission will be established taking into account the fast changing dynamics of global and regional trade and economics."
The activities and the name of Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) are likely to be changed soon to help the organisation keep up with the contemporary trend of global trade and business, officials in the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said.
The name to be proposed for the BTC is the 'Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC)'. The MoC will soon send the new name and revised allocation of business for the BTTC to the Cabinet Division for approval, a source said.
According to the proposed function, the BTTC will analyse the trend of external trade and advise the government on the right kind of policies. It will focus on multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements and advise the government on its stance at different trade-related forums, an official said.
The BTTC will be given the responsibility to draft all sorts of modalities of negotiations for both ongoing and future trade related agreements, he said.
Besides, the proposed BTTC will examine product and sector-wise potentials for the purpose of exports, identify hindrances to trade growth and recommend the ways to get rid of the same and policy matters, he added.
"These new areas of activities will be additional to what the BTC is doing now," a top official in the MoC said.
"Many countries including India and Thailand have such single organisation to deal with both the trade and tariff issues."
The BTC was established in 1992 to protect the local industry from dumping of imported goods, encourage local manufacturing sector through providing tariff protection and to ensure proper use of local industrial products.
However, the BTC since its inception could not contribute up to the expectation due mainly shortage of manpower and dearth of their expertise in trade and tariff , sources said.
The revised allocation of business for the commission has provided for appointment of manpower with having expertise in trade and commerce.
'The commission will have better manpower if the revised draft is approved,' hoped an commerce ministry official.
"The new Commission will be established taking into account the fast changing dynamics of global and regional trade and economics."