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Dhaka's 4 conditions for FTA talks

UNB, Dhaka
The commerce minister yesterday said India would need to fulfil four prerequisites, including special and preferential treatment to Bangladeshi goods, to obtain positive results in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations in October.
At the July 14-16 foreign minister-level Indo-Bangla Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting in Dhaka, both the coun-
tries agreed to initiate FTA talks in mid-October.
At a press briefing with members of the Overseas Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (OCAB), Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said Bangladesh wants to have some "early harvests" by way of resolving trade disputes with India before going into the proposed free-trade talks.
The FTA negotiations have to start on the basis of already-due
special and differential treatment to Bangladesh as per the WTO charter in the first place.
Consideration of comparative development stages of the two countries, resolving the problem of tariff, non-tariff and para-tariff barriers under one package, and ensuring equitable share of trade by reducing the huge trade gap of one billion dollars are the three other prerequisites he mentioned.
"If these bases are not accepted,
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what are we going to negotiate about? This has to be a starting point of negotiation. Otherwise, negotiations will not be useful," the commerce minister observed, indicating a tough stance of Bangladesh on having a square deal in bilateral trade with India.
Khosru said he would like to see India allow Bangladesh's 118 items duty-free market access as well as remove existing non-tariff restrictions that virtually blocked Bangladesh's exports like cement, CI sheets and lead-acid batteries to Indian market.
"We have to have the right condition to go on FTA … We would like to have these things resolved before the FTA negotiation. If not, we'll have to wait and see," he told the OCAB members.
As one example of what he calls early harvests, the commerce minister said Bangladesh would like to see India allow entry of some 100,000 tonnes of cement from Bangladesh.
"No measures have so far been taken from their part to reduce the trade gap," he told the journalists representing foreign media, on a note of disappointment over repeated roadblocks to Bangladesh's exports to northeastern Indian states.
The minister appreciated the concept of the FTA, but, at the same time, stressed the need for effective measures to reduce the trade gap.
"We're, of course, looking forward to this," he said, relating the importance of FTA to trade.
"Trade, trade and trade," he said, sequencing from first to third priorities with regard to the FTA. The minister in charge of trade would not like the other issues to be interpolated into the FTA negotiations.
OCAB President Golam Tahaboor chaired the briefing at the National Press Club while General Secretary Shamim Ahmed gave vote of thanks.
Asked if Bangladesh would go for countermeasures to retaliate India's non-tariff restrictions on Bangladeshi goods, the minister said, "If our trade partners follow the protectionist line, we'll have to follow the global practice and retaliate."
In an oblique reference to trade war on steel and banana between USA and EU, Khosru said there is always some retaliation in the global trade practice. However, he said, "Bangladesh is a very liberal country -- we are a reformist government and we will go by global changes."
The minister said India being the larger economy would be more benefited through allowing exports from Bangladesh, as USA did with Mexico. In their free trading arrangement, Mexico benefited enormously but USA, at the same time, derived higher yields from the smaller partner.
Asked if export of natural gas would be considered a way of reducing trade gap with India, he categorically said gas is not an
industrial product and it has nothing to do with bridging the trade gap.
In reply to another question whether transit or transshipment is in any way linked with trade negotiations, Khosru readily retorted that the matter is in no way linked with trade talks.
About Indo-Bangladesh border trade, he rejected the idea as redundant when the two countries are about to initiate talks on FTA.
About signing of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States, he said the cabinet had approved the Agreement to deal with bilateral trade and investment issues.
On the proposed US Bill for signing trade accord with 18 Muslim countries including Bangladesh, the minister said a Bill was introduced in the Senate. "We will try to negotiate it in our own way," he said, adding that the question of recognising Israel is political that needs to be settled politically.
Regarding Accounts Trade Agreement, he said Bangladesh had started discussion with Thailand and would sign an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Myanmar soon under the present government's Look East policy, which he said is "paying
The minister said Bangladeshi products are enjoying duty-free access to Canada, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Japan, and limited access into the Chinese market. Bangladesh's export to Canada has increased to some extent following the duty-free access. Export to China would also increase as Chinese economy is growing fast.
In reply to a question, he said Bangladesh is trying to widen her export basket by emphasising newer items including light engineering products. During the current fiscal, the country will export 2,00,000 bicycles to EU market -- and the figure is expected to double in the next financial year.
The commerce minister said the government is trying to increase negotiating capacity of all its trade departments as well as remove supply-side constraints to cope with the changing global trade scenario featured by free competition.