BIMSTEC trade meeting begins in Dhaka with focus on FTA
BIMSTEC trade meeting begins in Dhaka with focus on FTA
Siddique Islam
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
October 10, 2005
The Eighth BIMSTEC Trade Negotiation Committee meeting began in Dhaka today with the aim of developing a free trade agreement between member countries.
BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, comprises Bangladesh, Burma, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. The negotiation committee is made up of trade experts from member countries.
More than 50 top BIMSTEC officials attended the meeting where delegates discussed a draft trade agreement and the necessary rules of product origin and dispute settlement mechanisms.
At the six-day meet, delegates are expected to try to iron out several issues with a view to conclude talks by the end of the year for the launch of a free trade agreement by July 2006.
A senior official, who participated in the meeting, told Mizzima, "We are discussing the draft agreement on trade negotiation to protect each member countries interests".
Commerce Secretary of Bangladesh Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi formally inaugurated the meeting this morning at a hotel in Dhaka. The next high-level BIMSTEC meeting will be held in New Delhi in November and 2005’s final meeting will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal in December.
Initially, the free trade agreement will cover only products, but services and investment are expected to be included after 2007.
The agreement is to be implemented in two phases, with the least developed member countries - Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal and Bhutan - reaping the benefits of grace periods in both phases.
In the first phase, or the fast tracked phase, products listed by each country will have their respective most favoured nation tariffs gradually reduced or eliminated in accordance with specified rates to be mutually agreed by the parties in a certain time frame.
Under the first phase, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand will have to reduce duties on identified items between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2009. Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan and Nepal will have to reduce duties on specified goods by June 30, 2011 for developing countries and June 30, 2009 for least developed members.
As part of the second phase, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand will have from July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2012 to reduce tariffs on selected products for developing countries and until June 30, 2010 to reduce rates for least developed BIMSTEC members.
For Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan and Nepal, the second phase time limit is July 1, 2017 for developing countries and June 30, 2015 for each other. The agreement is designed to benefit lesser developed countries, such as Burma, the most.
But while neighbouring Thailand sent an 18-members delegation Burma sent only one representative, Burmese Counselor Han Tin. India sent eight representatives while host country Bangladesh sent nine.
Even small countries such as Nepal and Bhutan sent more delegates than Burma, with six and five respectively causing some to speculate the Burmese government did not take the meeting seriously.
"Actually, Burma is member of ASEAN and very much close to Thailand so that they are giving support to Thailand during the trade negotiations," the official observed.
