Ticfa up in the air

The signing of the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) with the US is still uncertain as the government is yet to decide on a date to ink the deal.
“Ticfa is a dead issue. The cabinet just approved it ahead of the US government's verdict on GSP [Generalised System of Preferences] thinking it might have an impact,” a senior government official said yesterday.
Although the US has been informed immediately via a written letter about the cabinet's approval to Ticfa, a timeframe for signing the deal was not specified, the official said.
There are some procedural matters before the final signing of the agreement, but the government has yet to initiate any move to complete the procedure, he added.
After more than a decade of talks, the government on June 17 finally gave the go-ahead to the signing of a crucial deal that is expected to accelerate trade and investment with the US to foster an open and predictable environment for trade and investment.