South Asia meet discusses sensitive list
KATHMANDU:
During the first day’s meeting of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), held today, in Kathmandu, representatives focused on the reduction of the number of products in the sensitive list.
The joint secretary level meeting discussed on the progress made on the reduction of the number of products in the sensitive list of different countries. The sensitive list is
a list that each member country of the region has made which does not include tariff concession.
The meeting focused more on the reduction of products in the sensitive list based on tariff than on percentage. Representatives also inquired on the progress made by Sri Lanka in finalising its sensitive list as most of the countries had already forwarded its reduced sensitive list last year.
Informing about the SAFTA meeting, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Jib Raj Koirala said, “Nepal being an import based country has asked for a gradual reduction in its list.”
The South Asian countries have scheduled its next meeting for March, 2014. During the SAFTA meeting in 2014, they will discuss on marginal preference and its product limit, said the ministry.
During the SAFTA meeting in 2012, the Working Group on Reduction in the Sensitive Lists under SAFTA had completed its task of reducing the sensitive list by 20 per cent.
Back then, Maldives had reduced its sensitive list from 681 tariff lines to 152 tariff lines (78 per cent reduction) and India had reduced its sensitive list for LDCs from the earlier 480 tariff lines to only 25 tariff lines (95 per cent reduction).
The number of products covered in the sensitive lists of member states before and after the 20 per cent or more reduction is as follows: Nepal-998 (LDCs), 1,036 (Non-LDCs); India-25 (LDCs), 695 (Non-LDCs); Bangladesh-987 (LDCs), 993 (Non-LDCs); Bhutan-150; Sri Lanka-845 (LDCs), 906 (Non-LDCs); Pakistan-936; Maldives-152 and Afghanistan-850.
The South Asian countries after entering into SAFTA have been working on to open up their markets to boost intra-regional trade but it has been taking long. South Asian intra-regional trade stands at a minimal volume due to various infrastructural, tariff and non-tariff barriers, states the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
However, countries now are geared up to open their markets to regional member countries. One of the most impoverished regions in the world that houses some 1.5 billion people, South Asia is the least integrated region in the world due to poor logistics and trade barriers, despite its huge potential, states WTO.
Agenda for today
South Asian countries are all geared up to discuss over issues related to non-tariff barriers in regional trade for second day’s meeting of South Asian Free Trade Area. “Non-tariff barriers are the major issues among South Asian nations,” said joint secretary at Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Jib Raj Koirala. Regional trade in South Asia is affected more by non-tariff barriers than tariff barriers. “We will discuss on standard products, trade facility, rescue facility and laboratory issues,” he said.
Source: THT
