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Why Ticfa?

Aftab Ul Islam , M.A. Taslim
critical subject to the respective government authorities that fast tracks a bilateral agreement between them. As for the number of meetings to be held by two the countries, it can be based on the need of the two countries, and will meet not once but 3-4 times a year if required. There are countless Ticfas existing in today's world that have been proved to be beneficial.
Discussions on the necessity of Ticfa between LIS and Bangladesh had begun over a decade ago, and it's mainly due to the complex and slow bureaucratic response from Bangladesh side that the agreement had been hanging in the air for so long. Such delay with regard to signing of the Ticfa along with numerous trade agreements points out an important fact, which is that Bangladesh should have shifted its focus to trade and economic diplomacy from politics oriented diplomacy. There should have been a coordinated approach undertaken by our government and the private sector for signing Ticfa.
Three important features of Ticfa are about labour condition, compliance and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) matters. It is important to mention that Bangladesh will benefit from all the aforementioned features, and if proper actions are taken as per the agreement guidelines then it will be able to regain its suspended GSP facilities too. On top of it, Bangladesh will also have the opportunity to address the 3% of the products on which it draws no GSP benefits too.
On the subject of the poll-time interim government's signing the Ticfa I hold the view that the poll-time government in Bangladesh is constitutionally legal for signing such treaty.
Linking trade with environment and linking labour issues with trade are the two most important areas where Bangladesh along with other LDC countries have protested to the WTO as well as asked for more time. In this regard I believe that through a joint-cooperation achieved through Ticfa Bangladesh can open new doors for direct foreign investments in Bangladesh.
Trade agreements are becoming challenging with the times. Bangladesh must be prepared to meet the challenges in order to gain the advantages from Ticfa. The need for Ticfa is there, and it can succeed through an all-out effort undertaken by our bureaucracy and the private sector. Ticfa, if negotiated with diplomatic and economic astuteness, can only be good for Bangladesh.
The writer is the president of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AMCHAM).
IF everything proceeds as per plan, then Bangladesh will most likely sign the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ticfa) with the United States today.
In the beginning I would like to stress upon the fact that Ticfa is a platform given by a bilateral contract. It's not mandatory for any of the signatories to function under any obligations. The main objectives of Ticfa are to address issues and impediments, and analyse trade and commercial relations between two countries. Moreover, it creates scope for taking a
THE present government is an interim government. Constitutionally it is supposed to do only routine work. Signing such an important international treaty like Ticfa is not proper for an interim government. That is the first important question to deal with.
It is mysterious why the government does not disclose the agreement. If we look at the
documents ofTicfa agreements with Sri Lanka and Pakistan we do not find there is anything so serious to hide. If our government discloses the agreement then the concerned stakeholders will get the chance of giving their feedback and that will strengthen Bangladesh's position and protect our national interest.
Bangladesh is going to attend the WTO ministerial next month. Many trade related issues will be discussed in the meeting, including environment and labour issues. These two sensitive issues could be included in Ticfa. The US may go soft on environment, but it is likely to be tough on the labour issue. Bangladesh government has long been circumspect on the labour issue. In WTO forum, least developed countries deal with these issues together. For a long time, they have been opposing developed-country-led proposals on environment and labour issues of trade, regarding them as unfavourable for LDCs. Our government needs to be cautious. Developed countries often use bilateral agreements to avoid multilateral fora, where it is more difficult to browbeat smaller and poorer countries as they work unitedly. 1 think any lapses in negotiations will make us vulnerable to US pressure and weaken our position as an LDC leader.
I do not think there is any strong link between signingTicfa and regaining GSP per se. The decision to suspend GSP was taken by a quasi-judicial body after lengthy hearings. Bangladesh will have to dispel the allegations raised in order to have a chance to have the suspension withdrawn. Since labour issues are some of the principal issues which have a great deal of support in the country, Bangladesh will find it difficult to resist its inclusion in Ticfa. The US has quite effectively checkmated Bangladesh.
Ticfa provides for a regular forum for discussion of trade and investment issues with the US. To match US negotiating skill, Bangladesh must have similar skills. The question is do we have competent negotiators?
The writer is a Professor and Chairman, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka.