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Market access should be main agenda of PM’s US visit |
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September 27, 2000
Dhaka (UNB) – Amid some contentions over bilateral trade relations, top business leaders yesterday urged the Prime Minister to consider market access as main agenda of her forthcoming US visit. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina goes to the United States middle of October at the invitation of President Bill Clinton. Market access has crucial importance to integrate the country’s economy and business, they said while speaking on “State of Business in Bangladesh” at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) auditorium. DRU organised the talk as part of its “Meet The Reporters” programme. Its president M Anwarul Haq presided. Metropolitan Chamber president Latifur Rahman, Dhaka Chamber president Aftab-ul Islam and BGMEA president Anisur Rahman Sinha addressed the meeting. DRU general secretary Monowarul Islam was also present. Latifur Rahman said market access to India, which is at an odd stage, should be the highest policy priority of the government to facilitate regional market access. “Regional market access is an important element for integration in the global market…it has crucial importance to our economy and business,” he said. In this context, the business magnet pointed out that the SAPTA agreement was concluded with great difficulty but it’s being observed more by imposition of tariff and non-tariff barriers than by facilitating trade development. “As a result, our enterprises are at serious disadvantage in the face of increasing imports from India on the one hand and denial of market access by tariff and non-tariff barriers on the other.” The MCCI president said India had agreed on principle to allow duty-free access of 25 Bangladeshi items to India, but no progress was made in last two years. Instead, he noted, India imposed new barriers on export of goods from Bangladesh to India. Citing an example he said batteries were being exported to India, which was forced to stop erecting tariff walls. Garment exporters also tried to export their products targeting middle-class market in India, which was also foiled as Indian government imposed extra tax on every piece of garments, he further pointed out. “It can’t be good for the region. We might not need to raise question about SAARC Cumulation if India earlier allowed our garment to their market.” About the limited items in the export basket, he said: “We need to have a ground created first for export. We’ll then decide what items we can offer. We have the ability to manufacture goods as we proved with our RMG industry.” Latifur Rahman said the economic situation showed some tentative signs of improvement during last three months of the current fiscal year. In first two months, export earnings grew 23 per cent and remittances 16 per cent while agriculture sector showing positive performance. Against these favourable signs, he said, the threats are higher value of petroleum, fall in foreign-exchange reserve, declining trend of government revenue earnings, increase in non-development expenditure and non-integration of the economy with the regional and global markets. BGMEA president Sinha also said business interests, like the market-access issue, should be on top of agenda during Prime Minister Hasina’s next visit to the United States. He told the meeting that the European Union had decided to import duty-and quota-free from the least developed countries and appealed for other developed countries to offer same facilities to the LDCs. “The government should take immediate action to get this facility,” said Sinha who leads the sector that fetches an estimated 76 per cent of the country’s total 5.7 billion- dollar annual export earnings. Replying to a question about the newly forged SAARC Cumulation Rules, which allows fabrics import from the regional countries, he said India specially manufactures low-cost handloom and power-loom fabrics, which textile entrepreneurs in Bangladesh do not even think of manufacturing. “It would not be viable to produce those low-cost fabric here. If we could produce at same cost like India, our RMG export would increase by an additional US$500 million to US$1 billion annually,” said Sinha, who is a textile entrepreneur. The BGMEA chief said a cell headed by the Prime Minister should be formed to facilitate higher scale of apparel export making the sector competitive. He also demanded formation of an apparel board and an exporters’ federation to look after the problems of the export sector. Dhaka Chamber president Aftab-ul Islam said a genuine political consensus based on tolerance, not on confrontation, should be established for the betterment of the economy. Replying to a question, he regretted the process of electing executives of the country’s apex trade body FBCCI. “The process will not yield any good in future,” he said. Latifur Rahman also said the process is not good for anybody. “Why the election is taking this dimension…why somebody is giving importance on politics. I hope business and politics will be kept apart in future.” |