The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

India is likely to announce duty-free access of some products from Bangladesh and other LDC members of SAARC by the year end, as they assured at the 13th meeting of the SAARC Committee on Economic Cooperation (SAARC-CEC).

"They (India) are working on it and the announcement in this regard is likely to come by the year end," Commerce secretary of Bangladesh Feroz Ahmed told a press conference at the Ministry of Commerce on Sunday.

All the commerce secretaries of SAARC member states attended the two-day meeting at Hotel Sheraton that concluded yesterday. The meeting was held after a gap of three years since the 12th SAARC-CEC meeting was held in Islamabad in 2004.

Apprising the meeting's outcome, Feroz Ahmed said India offered the trade preference unilaterally to Bangladesh and other LDC members while Indian officials assured that Bangladesh might get duty-free market access for a substantial number of products. He said India informed the meeting that they would unilaterally provide duty free access to the LDCs on items, which are not on the sensitive list, by the end of 2007. Furthermore, he said, they would also substantially reduce their sensitive list for the LDCs aimed at providing duty-free access on the items to be excluded from the sensitive list by end-2008.

Besides, a senior official who attended the meeting said, the SAARC-CEC decided that the Non-Least Developed Countries of SAARC would reduce the tariffs to 0-5 percent for imports from LDCs one year ahead by December 31 this year.

As per the SAFTA agreement, the non-LDCs were scheduled to reduce their tariff to 0-5 percent for the products of LDCs within a timeframe of three years beginning from the date of coming into force of the Agreement.

The SAFTA agreement came into force on January 1 last year and implementation of the tariff liberalisation became effective on July 1 the same year.

"Bangladesh is still utilising SAPTA (South Asia Preferential Trade Agreement) instead of SAFTA," said the official, replying to a question whether the SAARC member states were benefiting from SAFTA.

The businessmen of the region would prefer SAFTA since the beginning of next year as the SAFTA benefit by then would outnumber SAPTA facilities, he added.

The meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation instructed the sub-group on NTMs (Non-tariff Measures) to identify the NTM's/PTM's and recommend to the SAFTA Committee of Experts (CoE) for appropriate measures of their elimination.

The 3rd meeting of the sub-group on NTMs will be held in Kathmandu on 7-8 January 2008.

On the issuance of SAFTA Certificate of Origin, the meeting decided that all member states would keep SAARC Secretariat informed, on half-yearly basis, of all the certificates issued by each country. "This will facilitate monitoring of trade within SAARC under SAFTA."

It also noted that the SAFTA sensitive list should be brought down so that it can truly benefit the LDC's.

The meeting pointed out that on completion of the ongoing SAARC Study on Trade in Services, by end February 2008, member states would consider how to proceed on concluding an agreement on trade in services under SAFTA.

Regarding the Standards, the meeting endorsed the recommendation of the Standing Group on Standards, to establish South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) to be located on the BSTI premises in Dhaka.

A decision was also taken to organize the 8th SAARC Trade Fair in Colombo in 2008, and the 9th in Bhutan in 2009.

Bangladesh offered hosting the 2nd meeting of the Heads of the National Statistical Organizations of SAARC member states in February 2008.

As proposed by Bangladesh, the SAARC-CEC agreed to undertake a new project for Cooperation for the Development of SMEs in the region. Nepal's proposal for development of laboratory testing facilities at land customs station was also agreed upon.

The meeting also held discussions on the new and potential areas for economic cooperation and identified two new sectors-renewable energy and biotechnology-for cooperation among the SAARC members.

"We have also decided that Geneva-based Ambassador of SAARC countries will meet to evolve a common SAARC position on various issues under the Doha Round of negotiations," Feroz Ahmed said. Bangladesh will coordinate the group's work in Geneva.

A retreat of the Commerce Secretaries will be held in Colombo in the first half of 2008 to have a free exchange of views on all matters relevant to regional economic cooperation. There will be no fixed agenda for the retreat.

The meeting decided to hold the 14th SAARC-CEC meeting in second half of 2008 in India while the 3rd meeting of SAFTA Ministerial Council and its Committee of Experts (CoE) would also be held in India in the first quarter of 2008.