15pc cut in negative list of products agreed

Manel de Silva, chairman of trade negotiation committee (TNC) of Bimstec, speaks at a press briefing after conclusion of a three-day TNC meeting in Dhaka yesterday.Photo: STAR

Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectorial and Economic Cooperation) trade negotiation committee (TNC) after its 3-day deliberation reached consensus on various outstanding issues including reduction in negative list of products up to 15 percent of the total 5226 tariff lines.
However the issues that were agreed upon would be taken up with the governments of the member-countries of the 7-nation bloc for endorsement.
The TNC meeting concluded in Dhaka yesterday.
It was also agreed upon that the least developed countries (LDCs) would require 30 percent value addition to their products, while such value addition requirement would be 35 percent for developing countries of the bloc.
TNC Chairman Manel de Silva, also director general of Sri Lankan Commerce Department, spelt out the outcome of the 15th meeting hosted by Bangladesh at a joint briefing at a city hotel yesterday.
Around 40 delegates from the member countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand - participated in the meeting.
Manel said the next TNC meeting is scheduled to be held in the Indian capital city New Delhi on November 12-15, which is expected to finalise the issues agreed upon at the Dhaka meeting.
She said, " The Dhaka meeting was very constructive. We are optimistic about signing a deal on free trade area at the Bimstec summit in New Delhi in February 2008."
The Dhaka meet participants also decided that the issue of road connectivity among the member-states, especially the land- locked countries, would be cleared from the respective governments.
The meeting also agreed on the modalities for tariff cut, namely Liner Equal Tariff Cut, by which LDCs will reduce their tariff in a span of ten years after signing the free trade agreement, while the developing countries will do this within 3 years for the LDCs and for their own in a 5-year period.
The TNC with representatives from all member countries was set up to negotiate and finalise the subsidiary agreements on trade in goods, trade in services and investment towards establishment of an FTA.
The Bimstec Framework Agreement on FTA was signed on February 8, 2004 and Bangladesh acceded to Bimstec FTA on June 25 the same year.
Bimstec provides a unique link between South Asia and Southeast Asia bringing together 1.3 billion people, 21 percent of the world population, a combined GDP of US$750 billion.
A study (2004) shows the potential of US$ 43 to 59 billion in trade can be created under a Bimstec free trade agreement.