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THE sixth WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong ended with no good news for Bangladesh. From Bangladesh's point of view, the centerpiece of trade-liberalisation talks was an agreement on granting duty- and quota-free access to the developed markets for goods from the group of 15 LDCs. The final deal permits duty- and quota-free entry for 97 per cent of the products from the LDCs, and allows the developed countries to maintain restrictions on 3.0 per cent of the items, that include readymade garments (RMG) from Bangladesh and Cambodia.
The reason given for this was that the RMG sectors in Bangladesh and Cambodia are considered competitive and have no need for such a helping hand.
So, our flagship product is going to face a serious duty barrier. The lesson here is that we should be moving beyond thinking of ourselves as a nation dependent on concessions and unable to compete without them.
Another thing was prominent. Bangladesh has to diversify its export base, instead of depending highly on RMG. We need to be competitive in other sectors, with a commitment to improving port facilities, infrastructure, banking services to ensure a healthy business environment in the country that can help investment and trade prosper.
The lesson in a sense is positive. We should be serious about ourselves. There is nothing to stop bilateral agreements between Bangladesh and other countries with respect to greater market access. So this is a path we should be pursuing in recognition of the fact that the new tariff-line wouldn't be applicable before 2008.
Ahmed Reaz
Lake Circus
Kalabagan, Dhaka
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