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Analysts stress framework to defuse non-tariff disputes

Star Business Report
Saarc member states should build a broad framework to deal with disputes over non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that hurt intra-regional trade development in South Asia, analysts said yesterday.
Experts also observed that trade restrictive measures also prevail in other groupings, such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations and European Union, hurting many least-developed countries in getting market access.
There are 3,000 types of hardcore NTBs in the current global trading system.
Such impositions and the prevalence of NTBs also cause a dilution of tariff preferences obtained by countries under multilateral and regional trading arrangements, they observed.
"NTBs now contribute to a large share of trade restrictiveness across countries. On average, they add an additional 87 percent to the restrictiveness imposed by tariffs," Rajesh Mehta, senior fellow of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) New Delhi, said at a discussion on NTBs in South Asia.
"Moreover, in 34 of the 78 countries,
restrictiveness of NTBs is larger than the restrictiveness of tariffs," he said, citing a study.
SANEM (South Asian Network on Economic Modelling) and Commonwealth Secretariat, UK, in collaboration with BICF (Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund) organised the discussion on NTBs, as part of a two-day conference on 'Managing Regional Integration in South Asia' at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.
Discussants observed that sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT) and other related measures accounts for 86.3 percent of all NTBs in South Asia. The share of intra regional trade fell below 5 percent of global trade in 2008 from 5.47 percent in 2000.
A lack of trade facilitation measures, such as infrastructure development, also acts as NTBs, which have become a trade restrictive tool for countries, as it did not receive adequate treatment under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Safta is also yet to address the NTB issues squarely and with due diligence, and observed that NTBs take place mainly due to the influence exerted by private sector producers.
"One way of dealing with NTBs,
many of which originate from SPS-TBT certification and laboratory testing and health hygiene requirements, is to set up a mutual recognition framework." said Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
He said most NTBs concern national standards.
"The best way to go forward would be to ensure th at these are not country-specific but universal," said Rahman, suggesting ascertaining standards that are not recognised internationally and strengthening national setting institutions to compliance requirements.
He, however, said the decision of Saarc members to set up a Saarc Standardisation Organisation (SARSO) would be an important step to deal with standards related issues.
lYade analysts also suggested maintaining transparency regarding NTBs imposed by each member state of South Asian groupings. They also favoured harmonisation of standards.
Saman Kelegama, executive director of Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Sri Lanka, observed that NTBs emerge nowadays as attention to the issues under the WTO arrangement were inadequate.