The government decided to renew the trade agreement with India for another three years without major changes as the deal expires on May 31 this year, said officials.
An inter-ministerial meeting at commerce ministry in Dhaka yesterday made the decision, with additional commerce secretary Manoj Kumar Roy in the chair. The meeting also decided to seek slight amendments to provisions 6 and 8 of the deal.
The government earlier thought of incorporating service sector in the deal. But the plan has been abandoned as business community and commerce ministry’s WTO Cell opposed the plan.
The amendment to provision 8 will be that two governments will agree to make mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of their waterways, roadways and railways for commerce between the two countries.
In the meeting Bangladesh Tariff Commission representative suggested removing non-tariff barriers so Bangladesh could enjoy export benefits with India. BTC recommended inclusion of the matter in the Indo-Bangla trade agreement.
BTC official said two governments will be made aware about the laws and rules to reduce non-tariff barriers.
The official also recommended inclusion of a provision titled “transparency” in the trade agreement.
Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, senior commerce secretary, told Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday that the government will sign Indo-Bangladesh trade agreement without major amendments.
Bangladesh-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggested India and Bangladesh trade agreement should be automatically renewed after three years. Representative from foreign ministry urged the authorities not wait for Indian proposals and finalise the matters to renew the deal.
Commerce ministry’s WTO Cell suggested the India–Bangladesh trade deal should be for five years instead of the existing three years.
In the meeting the Cell representative opposed the plan to include service sector in the deal as Bangladeshi service sector will be affected if such initiative is taken.
An official of the Cell said representatives from India and Bangladesh are regularly discussing service sector incorporation in the trade agreement and reducing non-tariff barriers at the several joint working group meetings.
RMG export to India had increased following duty-free and quota-free access of 46 items compared to few years ago. But the export amount is now declining for different reasons including non-tariff barriers.
