The member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) reached a consensus on easier rules of origin for least developed country (LDCs) exports at the trade negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya yesterday.
Member countries agreed to an LDC demand for preferential treatment for export products that have at least 25% value addition in the manufacturing country, under the rules of origin (ROO).
That means the total export value of an LDC export product can have up to 75% imported components and still enjoy duty-free and quota-free market access to developed country markets.
“It will help increase our exports,” an official of the Bangladesh delegation, who is one of the negotiators, told the Dhaka Tribune, giving an update on the negotiations during the noon break. “There were no other breakthroughs for other areas of interest for us so far.”
Currently, different countries impose separate ROOs for LDC exports; Bangladesh currently enjoys preferential treatment on products with 30% value addition.
Bangladesh’s RMG products now add value locally by an average of 40%, but officials say exports would increase if the decision is adopted and implemented faithfully by preference granting countries.
In the LDC ministerial declaration made a day before the start of the Nairobi ministerial meeting, LDCs called upon WTO members to adopt the preferential ROO decided at the ninth ministerial conference in Bali.
The LDCs called upon members to improve the ROO applicable to imports from LDCs by making them simple, transparent and development-friendly so that they do not act as barriers to LDC exports but enable them to fully utilise market access opportunities provided to them under commitments made at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.
“Our views and aspirations are contained in the LDC Ministerial Declaration that we adopted in Nairobi on December 14,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told the plenary session as the LDC coordinator yesterday, reiterating developing countries’ common stand in the global trade negotiations.
Expressing concern over the gradual marginalisation of the LDCs in global trade, he said: “Clearly, we must get our rules and decisions such that LDCs can get commercially meaningful market access in trade in goods and services … we want firm commitments.”
