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Ensure nat'l interest in Tifa deal

JS body asks govt

Staff Correspondent
The parliamentary standing committee on the commerce ministry yesterday asked the ministry to ensure country's highest interest before it seals the much-debated Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (Tifa) deal with the USA.
"The discussion between the two countries about Tifa is moving in the positive direction. Our counterpart the USA is now showing more positive attitude in comparison to their earlier stance, especially on the sensitive issue of child labour," Lutful Hai, chairman of the parliamentary body, told The Daily Star after the meeting.
"We, on behalf of the committee, asked the commerce ministry to uphold country's interest and evaluate pros and cons of different sections of the proposed Tifa deal," Hai, also a ruling Awami League lawmaker, added.
The commerce ministry has informed the committee that both the government and the USA are positive about the Tifa deal. He also assured the committee members of Bangladesh's interest in the deal.
Tifa became a topic of debate after Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for Central and South Asia Michael J Delaney visited Bangladesh last month.
The USA has been saying for long that Tifa is a nonbinding agreement, which only commits both the parties to hold regular annual meet-ings although many Bangladeshi stakeholders are still unaware of the matter.
The US government originally proposed the Tifa to Bangladesh in 2002. An inter-ministerial meeting in January 2003 assigned the commerce ministry to begin negotiations with the USA on it. Since then, the two sides have held several rounds of talks and also worked to prepare a draft of the agreement.
According to the draft prepared by the USA. the areas Tifa is to cover include removal of non-tariff barriers, implementation of intellectual property rights, promotion of trade and private investment, improvement of workers' rights and pursuing WTO talks on the basis of Doha Development Agenda.
In the draft, the USA side proposed that the two govern-ments establish ' US-Bangladesh Council on Trade and Investment' under the Tifa. The council is envisaged to meet at least once a year to discuss bilateral trade issues.
The committee chief Lutful Hai at a briefing at the Jatiya Sangsad Media Centre told reporters that they had asked the commerce ministry to take all steps to bring the prices pf essentials within people's purchase capability.
He expected that prices of essentials wall not go up before Eid- Ul-Azha as stocks of sugar, oil and other essentials are at a satisfactory level.
The committee, however, asked the ministry concerned to import those food items stock of which is less in the warehouses.