Dhaka is moving positively towards holding 'conclusive talks' with Washington for signing the long pending Trade and Investment Framework Agreement which, the government hopes, would usher in a new era in the US-Bangladesh trade relations.
A summary of the draft agreement, prepared by the commerce ministry, awaits endorsement by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, before the ministry enters final rounds of negotiations with the US officials, sources close to the Prime Minister's Office told New Age.
After the recent visit by the US assistant trade representative, Michael J Delaney, the Awami League government is actively considering 'further negotiations' with the United States taking into consideration Bangladesh's economic and business interests, the sources pointed out.
The TIFA is being considered at a time when the Awami League government is going to discuss the issue of transit with Bhutan and India during prime minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to land-locked Bhutan and then India.
The official said that the government was almost convinced that signing the agreement would not harm Bangladesh's interest although some experts had already cautioned that such an agreement between unequal partners might prove discriminatory to Bangladesh.
Amid controversies surrounding the proposed TIFA, talks on which began in 2003, the government is likely to discuss with the stakeholders, such as business community, on certain provisions of the agreement that might be sensitive for Bangladesh.
The commerce ministry, which raised questions about intellectual property rights, labour standards and environmental issues, was told by US side that those issues were just mentioned in the preamble of the agreement and that they would not be binding.
The US officials in Dhaka and also trade diplomats, who examined the latest TIFA draft, said there were only two obligations in the proposed agreement: formation of a council for discussion on the issues of trade and investment and holding of at least one meeting a year.
Both US officials and the commerce ministry officials said Bangladesh's international obligations under multilateral and other agreements and the country's entitlements to certain facilities and concessions under the current global trading regime would not be affected by the TIFA.
Asked if the United States would opt for making the draft TIFA public for the sake of avoiding controversies, an official of the US mission in Dhaka said Washington was not in a position to make the draft public before signing of the agreement. 'There are other drafts of TIFA and this one is similar to that,' said the US official.
During the meeting with the assistant US trade representative, the country's business leaders broadly agreed with the proposal for formation of a platform to discuss relevant issues under the TIFA, and said they should be consulted before finalising the agreement. |
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