Dhaka urges WTO not to undermine LDC demands
Bangladesh has urged the developed and developing countries not to undermine the specific demands of the LDCs for better market access of their products and services under any circumstances.
Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman made the call on Monday at the WTO mini-ministerial meeting of trade ministers of 35 key nations on conclusion of the Doha Round, according to a message received here yesterday.
“We all know how urgent the conclusion of this round of negotiations is. We, the LDC delegates, also believe that the call for concluding the round will not undermine the very specific demands of the LDCs in any way,” he told the meeting.
“LDCs want better market access for their products and service providers. This is very much in line with the spirit of the WTO principles,” Zillur said.
Bangladesh made the call at a time when the European Union and the United States are putting pressure on the developing nations to open up their market to make the seven-year Doha Round successful.
The adviser said the trade ministers at the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting had made it clear that all the LDCs would be provided with the duty- and quota-free market access facility in all products category.
He urged the meeting to reflect on the point in a more specific way to ensure that the members concerned implement their commitment in a time-bound manner, adding that the issue should be included in the text in a clearer language with a timeline for implementation.
The Chairperson of the meeting, Pascal Lamy, circulated a text on the Doha Round negotiation before the mini-ministerial.
Zillur demanded for further clarity of the proposed mechanism for monitoring the preferential rules of origin.
“The monitoring mechanism should be finalised at the earliest, and we should not wait for the final schedules of members for implementing the mechanism,” he added.
The commerce adviser appreciated the proposed mechanism such as Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and Aid for Trade for the LDCs, and said the EIF would be important for supply side capacity building of the LDCs.
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