& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Relax rules of origin for LDCs to absorb post MFA shock

Dhaka urges European Commission

STAR BUSINESS REPORT
With the multi-fibre arrangement (MFA) era coming to an end, Bangladesh has urged the European Commission to relax rules of origin for the least developed countries (LDCs) to help them absorb the post MFA shock.
The MFA will cease after 2004 which poses serious threat to Bangladesh's largest foreign currency generating sector, the readymade garments. The MFA offered the LDCs a guaranteed export market for decades through quota.
Phasing out of the MFA will pose serious threat to the textile and apparel exports from the LDCs like Bangladesh. It will lead to huge loss of employment, resulting in adverse socio-economic impact on LDCs.
Bangladesh had raised these
issues while representing the LDCs in the May 5-6 global conference on the future of textile and clothing, organised by European Commission in Brussels.
Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury presented a paper on the impact of quota elimination on developing countries and strategies for industrial restructuring during the second session of the conference.
In the paper, the commerce minister urged the European Commission to introduce a new GSP (generalised system of preference) with relaxed rules of origin for LDCs and devise an effective capping mechanism for protecting the market share of apparel exporting LDCs.
Briefing on the Brussels meet, Amir Khosru yesterday told reporters Bangladesh wants duty-free access to all countries with relaxed
rules of origin.
"We feel LDCs should be exempted from anti-dumping duties," Khosru told the briefing.
Khosru said in order to work out details of the desired special measures the LDCs will hold a conference in Dhaka from May 31 to June 2 to hammer out a common stand in protecting their trades in the post-2004 quota-free regime.
UNB adds: Bangladesh is at the risk of losing 50 per cent of its apparel exports if quota is eliminated, while many garment factories are feared to close down rendering thousands of unskilled workers jobless.
The country already experienced a major shock from partial withdrawal of quota last year as its exports declined by around 30 per cent in category 847 (US category for trousers) and 37 per cent in
category 331 (US category for gloves) during January-December 2002.
On the other hand, exports from China, India, Mexico and Russia marked a sharp rise in those two categories, the minister said giving a comparative scenario.
The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), introduced in 1995, requires abolishment of quota that ensures protected market access to small exporting countries in 10 years.
However, the commerce minister said, "We can't tell you for sure right now whether one million people will lose job or one million people will be recruited afresh. We've to get prepared to face postMFA situation."
Khsoru referred to market preferences Bangladesh is enjoy-
ing from developed countries. "But these are not enough. We want more," he added.
Duty-free market access already offered to Bangladesh by EU, Canada and some other countries will be beneficial so long as tariff structure remains unchanged. Such preferential treatment will be less rewarding when tariff will be liberalised, the minister pointed out.
He felt SAARC cumulation, as prescribed by EU, should be preceded by 'global cumulation' as Bangladesh's apparel industry imports raw materials from nonSAARC countries also.
The Brussels conference, attended by key policymakers and senior functionaries from both the government and private sector from 72 countries, took note of LDCs' concerns and discussed possible remedies.