A few speakers at the review meeting on the just-concluded Sixth World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong also termed a proper preparation including capacity building for the negotiations in 2006, the end year of Doha Round, a humanitarian issue.

The meeting organised by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Bangladesh advised the national WTO team to secure the highest possible advantages from the trade packages like Aid for Trade, Non-Agriculture Market Access (Nama) and Trade-Related Investment Measures (Trims).

Business leaders, government officials, economists and trade experts participated in the meeting chaired by ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman at the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) auditorium in the city.

In his opening remarks, Mahbubur Rahman said the developed countries have sacrificed but a little in the December 12-18 Hong Kong talks, as they agreed to shed only 3.5 percent of their export subsidy by 2013 and remained rigid on continuing with the $300 billion domestic subsidy.

He emphasised a comprehensive, all-out, preparation for negotiation in the upcoming meetings to ensure gains in the areas like agriculture and non-agriculture market access, service sector and free movement of natural persons.

Commerce Secretary Faruk Ahmed Siddique said, "Our major worry is that the developed nations, especially the USA, may keep all Bangladeshi apparel products out of the duty-free list."

However, he said, Bangladesh still has some chances for inserting some of its textile items on their duty-free lists, as the Hong Kong Declaration allows the least developed countries (LDCs) to identify their products to get the benefit through negotiations.

Faruk urged all concerned including the chamber leaders to work hard to avail of the maximum gain from the next negations in Geneva and Washington, where the products for the negative list will be identified.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Tipu Munshi urged the government and others concerned to lobby for the enactment of the US Trade Act Bill 2005, which proposes duty- and quota-free market access for Bangladesh's apparels.

Former BGMEA president Annisul Huq asked the government to take measures that would scale down the production cost of readymade garments and thus increase their market competitiveness.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) President Fazlul Haque criticised the Bangladesh delegation to the Hong Kong Ministerial for having no benchmark for what it wanted to gain from the negotiations. But, Bangladesh still has some opportunities to redress its failure in Hong Kong, he added.

Criticising Pakistan and Sri Lanka for their roles detrimental to Bangladesh's interests in the Ministerial, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Sayeeful Islam remarked, "It's now proven that there is no permanent friend or foe in the world trade."

He regretted that "The country [Bangladesh] had no empirical study on the WTO members and what alternative courses of action were there for development."

Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Debapriya Bhattacharya expressed the apprehension of a possible political inaction in the WTO process in 2006, when the country will undergo a political transition. "We saw a political numbness in 2001 and are afraid of a similar experience during the crucial WTO negotiations in the next year," he said.

Debapriya recommended taking a political mandate by involving parliament in the WTO process, and forming a national committee to read and interpret the WTO Declaration from Bangladesh's point of view to the cabinet. He also suggested providing more resources and support to the WTO cell, appointing a separate secretary to deal with the WTO issues, strengthening the Geneva Mission and involving the finance ministry in the WTO process for protecting local industries.

Former adviser to caretaker government Rokia A Rahman suggested introduction of a separate think-tank in the government as well as coaching and training of the personnel concerned to raise their negotiation skills.

Rokia also urged the government to attract more foreign direct investments into the export-oriented sectors and to allocate subsidies in the agriculture and fisheries sectors for diversifying the country's export basket.

Former adviser to caretaker government and Brac Executive Director Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury suggested closing bonded warehouse and scraping cash incentives for the readymade garments and textile sectors to do away with the country's huge black economy.

He said, "Around Tk 1,500 crore will disappear from the black economy if the government abolishes the bond facility and cash incentives."

Former deputy prime minister Jamal Uddin criticised the government for failing to secure the support of Pakistan and Sri Lanka to Bangladesh's interests, despite hosting the 13th Saarc Summit last month.