Benefits from TICFA Agreement

There are usually a lot of debates for and against any regional or bilateral agreement, and the TICFA is no exception. Every agreement is based on certain geographic and political objectives. An agreement might seem to promote trade and investment only, but eventually political considerations and military issues also emerge. The moment foreign direct investment F!I" starts to flo# in, the issue of protecting investments also arises. From the strategic point of view, this agreement #ill bring $angladesh%&' relations to a ne# height. Even though $angladesh recently conducted a fe# bilateral partnership dialogues #ith the &', there is still no formal mechanism for discussions on issues pertaining to trade and investment. (nce signed by the t#o countries, this agreement is expected to provide a formal space bet#een the countries on increasing trade and investment relationships. Currently, the American Chamber of Commerce in $angladesh and $angladesh Chamber of Commerce &' are involved in protecting business interest of the t#o countries, #here state parties are not involved in addressing bilateral trade and investment matter. The t#o recent major tragedies, Ta)reen and *ana +la)a that posed a big ,uestion mar- over .'+ facility in the &' mar-et seem to be in the bac-ground for no# because of approval of Ticfa. /o#ever, the ruling party in the &' is insufficiently empo#ered to influence decision on #hether .'+ #ill continue. $ut optimists #ould, for the time being, conclude that it #ould send a positive message to the &' policyma-ers that $angladesh is at least ready to resolve all trade related matters under a 0formal1 frame#or-. Thus, to derive maximum benefits from Ticfa, the government should immediately form a tasforce including scholars, professionals and civil society members in the relevant field. It is also very important to commence national dialogue through all means 2 print and electronic media, seminars and symposiums, and scholarly deliberations 2 so that a national consensus can be developed regarding this extremely sensitive agreement. (n the other hand, $angladesh does not have much to lose in the &' as #e can see from the statistics of the country1s patent application. Another area of apprehension is lin-ing environment #ith trade and investment, because it #ould be difficult for $angladesh to address externality and adopt carbon tax, environmental tariff, etc., as per the standard set by the &'. The issues of labor standard, decent #or-place and safety are being gradually addressed by the government and being adopted fairly by the firms in E+3s4 the government of $angladesh has just initiated a labor la# that includes major compliance issues. $ut still there are many export oriented firms in #hich the issues are rarely ta-en into consideration.

Furthermore, measures to reciprocally eliminate non%tariff barriers and reduce tariff are difficult to adopt because of greater national economic interests. Above all, there is a need for political consensus about national o#nership of such an important agreement, #hich is largely missing in $angladesh. .iven this bac-drop, the chance of deriving benefit out of such an agreement is meagre for $angladesh, given the fact that the country is yet to #or- on these critical issues. 5e#s reports reveal that the &' government #ill consider reducing the existing high duty on $angladesh1s exports to its mar-et. $esides saving .'+, $angladesh must initiate preparations in the areas of tariff and non%tariff barriers through rigorous policy analysis since the government has approved the draft agreement.

Review about TICFA Agreement: Beneficial or Not

Commerce 6inister .6 7uader said 8$angladesh #ill gain more than lose from the proposed Trade and Investment Cooperation Frame#or- Agreement Ticfa" #ith the &' #hich, the government says, is going to be signed soon.9 8The main objective of Ticfa is to bring together high officials of both countries once a year to tal- about development of commerce and investment bet#een the t#o nations.9 8Ticfa #ill act as a platform for such negotiations li-e retaining .'+.9 Anu 6ohammad said 8The TICFA #ould expand trade and investment in $angladesh is a very fussy and tactful statement #ithout mentioning any specific thing in the accord. +roducts of other countries get entry into &' mar-et #ith only : percent tariff #hile $angladesh has to pay ;< percent, the &' is such a friend of $angladesh= The government is -eeping mum over the tariff issue of #hat benefits $angladesh #ould get and in the TICFA draft there is not a single #ord that #ould ensure any national interest of $angladesh.9 Commerce 'ecretary 6ahbub Ahmed told the FE 8I do not thin- that the .'+ suspension #ill harm our move to sign the TICFA. >e are not thin-ing in that #ay,? Additional *esearch !irector of Centre for +olicy !ialogue C+!" !r @honda-er .olam 6oa))em said 8The TICFA can be a good platform for $angladesh to discuss any bilateral issues #ith the &'.9 8Even if $angladesh #ants to discuss about .'+ restoration #ith the &', the TICFA can be a good forum. The government also can inform the &' about the developments after the .'+ suspension through the TICFA.9

8The TICFA should not only be lin-ed to apparel sector or the .'+. It should be considered as a long%term platform for $angladesh and the &' to tal- about overall trade and investment issues.9 'o, instead of ta-ing it politically the government should continue to discuss #ith the &' about signing of the TICFA. 5o go%slo# policy #ill be a right decision.9

Conclusion
TICFA should be conducted in such a #ay so that both the countries are e,ually benefited and TICFA provides a forum to loo- into each other trade issues in #in%#in position. The TICFA issue should also be discussed #ith the private sector in order to have it more transparent and business friendly. For the sa-e of development of $angladesh it is important to sign the TICFA treaty. T#enty% three per cent of our readymade garments are exported to the &'. Even a decade ago A< per cent of our export earnings #ere used to be received from the &'. This has been reduced to BB per cent. It is expected that our entrepreneurs #ould be able to export more after the TIFCA is signed. >hen a number of countries have already signed the TICFA #ith the &', there is no reason for us for not signing it. /o#ever, if there is any clause that is contrary to our national interest, it could be discussed for consideration.

Reference
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