Bangladesh & WTO Issue

Bangladesh lists products for duty-free market access under WTO

Bangladesh has finalized a list of 1,017 products to try to get duty-free market access to the WTO member countries. It was agreed at the last WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong that 97% of products from the least-developed countries (LDCs) would be allowed duty-free access to the markets of WTO member nations.

Dhaka also identified 276 other products intended to be put under the sensitive list of the developed countries, which makes up the remaining 3% of products. But Bangladesh would demand a timeframe of phasing out these products from the restrictive list as per a WTO decision.

"We should have second and third lists of products as alternative options," Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury said Monday, after a meeting of the high-powered committee the government formed in this regard.

The committee convened the meeting for the first time after it was formed by the Cabinet Division on March 16 to finalize the list of products and the country-strategy in any future negotiation of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The sub-committee on market access, headed by EPB Vice-Chairman Mir Shahabuddin Mohammed, prepared the lists of products. The next WTO negotiations would focus on how the member nations would settle which products would fall into the duty-free list of 97% and which into the sensitive or restrictive lists.

The decision would come from two meetings -- one scheduled to be held in Geneva and another in Washington. Meanwhile, the developed countries have decided to settle the lists by September and developing countries by December this year.

Altaf, who is heading the committee of 30 members comprised of public and private sector representatives, said an expert group to be formed out of the committee members would work to make the strategy concrete.

Besides, Bangladesh's Embassy in Washington would be assigned to further push US authorities to consider the Bangladesh cause while efforts by lobbyists already working there would be intensified.

The Committee meeting also considered the possibility of appointing lobbyists in Geneva, the headquarter of WTO, besides strengthening Bangladesh's mission there.

The country would also discuss LDCs causes with Asian LDCs as well as countries enjoying trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and CBI, said the minister.

"The lists were prepared taking into consideration the existing exports, GSP facilities, lists of imports by importing countries and products having export potentials in the near future," Director General of WTO cell in the Ministry of Commerce said.

He said the committee would try to keep all the country's exportable items in the duty-free list of 97% as the country has the scope to negotiate.

He further said that Bangladesh would try to negotiate determining the duty-free items on the basis of USA's imports from LDCs, which would constitute only 50 items to put in their sensitive list.

If it has to accept the basis of calculating the items on USA's global import, some 308 items of Bangladesh would be included in their sensitive lists, he said.

Regarding Japan, he said the country has informally assured Bangladesh of a relaxed approach beyond their already offered 98.6% duty-free items. Bangladesh would try to bring leather and fish items out of their sensitive list.

In his introductory remarks, the Commerce Minister apprised the meeting that the sub-committee on services sector already submitted its report to the Ministry of Commerce but expressed dissatisfaction that the other sub-committee on export diversification is yet to submit its report.

He asked the sub-committee to submit their report urgently so that the national committee could set the country strategy. "We're looking eagerly to see results out of these reports," said the minister.

Commerce Ministry Adviser Barkat Ullah Bulu, Commerce Secretary Mohammed Abdul Karim and committee members both from public and private sectors were present at the meeting.

Source: OneWorld.Net, 20 April 2006