Annex 2 and 3 of the Draft NAMA Text of July 2007: Implications for Bangladesh

The analysis particularly focuses on the possible implications of Annex 2 and Annex 3 of the NAMA modalities for Bangladesh.Annex 2, 3, NAMA, Implications, Bangladesh

Market Access Issues in the Context of the Doha Development Round: Bangladesh’s Interests and Concerns

The paper highlighted how gradual reduction in the tariff barriers aimed to facilitating market access for goods that was at the heart of the GATT process. These reductions were negotiated line by line and attempt was also made to deal with non-tariff barriers (NTBs), elimination of tariffs on certain information technology and pharmaceutical products. The paper is regarding the market access for products of interest to LDC member countries in the WTO such as Bangladesh and a number of outstanding issues could not be adequately addressed during the GATT Uruguay Round. It also provide an overview of some of the more pressing concerns with respect to market access emphasising full implementation of UR commitment, lack of enthusiasm on the part of the developed countries to include in the ongoing negotiations issues relating to market access in services of interest to the developing countries and LDCs, and these concerns were becoming more pronounced for Bangladesh.Market Access, Doha Round, Bangladesh

Proposed Changed to WTO Special and Differential Treatment Provisions: An Analysis from the Perspective of Asian LDCs

Special and differential treatment (S&D) provisions introduced in the GATT and the WTO in support of strengthened global integration of the developing country (DC) and least developed country (LDC) members have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism in recent years. One criticism has been that most of the S&D provisions are weak in their formulations, i.e., are expressed in the form of best endeavour clauses and hence are non-enforceable. The other strand of argument is that that in order for the S&D provisions to be effective and enforceable they ought to be targeted to countries that are in need of them most and be applied not in general, but with discretion, by identifying and targeting select group of developing countries that require a particular type of support most.Special and differential treatment, GATT

WTO General Council Decision of July 31, 2004: Interpreting from Bangladesh Perspective

The present paper titled WTO General Council Decision of July 31, 2004: Interpreting from Bangladesh Perspective was prepared under the CPD’s Trade Policy Analysis (TPA) programme. The TPA programme of CPD was initiated in 1999 in response to a felt need to enhance Bangladesh’s capacity to more effectively deal with the emerging trade issues in the face of deregulation, liberalisation and globalisation. The successful completion of the Uruguay Round Agreement in 1994 and the establishment of the WTO in 1995 was expected to have crucial implications for the LDCs such as Bangladesh. In the 1990s Bangladesh economy was becoming increasingly open and trade related policy making and trade negotiations were assuming critical importance for Bangladesh’s future development. In view of the emerging challenges in the context of the ongoing process of globalisation, the objective of CPD’s Trade Policy Analysis programme is to monitor the impact of the evolving trading regime under the WTO on Bangladesh economy with a view to support trade related capacity building process in the country by strengthening CPD’s institutional capacity in the areas of (a) trade related research, (b) preparation of policy briefs, (c) organisation of dialogues, (d) organisation of workshop and training, (e) strengthening trade related documentation, and (f) trade related publication and networking. The present paper on WTO General Council Decision of July 31, 2004: Interpreting from Bangladesh Perspective has been prepared by Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Research Director of CPD and Dr. Ananya Raihan, Research Fellow of CPD. The paper looks at the salient features of July 31 text, identification of departure of it from the Cancun draft text (progression or regression) from an LDC perspective and to put forward some suggestions as regards issues which Bangladesh could pursue in the course of future negotiations in the run up to the Sixth Ministerial Meeting to be held in Hong Kong by the end of 2005.WTO-General Council, Bangladesh

Bangladesh Apparels Export to the US Market - An Examination of Her Competitiveness vis-à-vis China

The rise of China has major repercussions for a country such as Bangladesh which has emerged as an important player in the global apparels market. True, the global pie in apparels trade is expected to expand considerably in view of the increase in demand, and also on account of the envisaged closure of large number of apparels/textile unit in the developed countries (mostly lower-end apparels/textile segment which were likely to become a sunset sector) and there will be space for more than one player. Evidently, impact and implications of competition from China will have to be examined and scrutinized at country level and for disaggregated items of apparels (since the impact for particular countries will be felt only at the disaggregated product level). It needs to be mentioned here that an earlier paper by the CPD has looked into the possible implications of Chinas rise in the context of the EU market. This particular paper will try to analyse the aforesaid issues as they relate to the US market.Bangladesh, Apparels Exports, Competetiveness, China, US market

EXPERIENCE WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF WTO-ATC AND IMPLICATIONS FOR BANGLADESH

This paper reviews the implementation of the Agreement on Textiles & Clothing (ATC), its implications for the future of Bangladesh's apparel sector and some of the possible strategic response which Bangladesh could design in order to address the emerging challenges in the global apparel market.WTO, Bangladesh

Bangladesh Apparels Export to the US Market: An Examination of Her Competitiveness vis-à-vis China

The paper tries to focus whether China's ascendancy will have any tangible impact on Bangladesh's export oriented RMG sector and identifies some of the apparel categories in which both the countries have common interests in the US market by analyzing the RCA index and recent performance of both the countries in view of the recent US-China MoU. The paper tries to assess the impact of China's accession to the WTO on Bangladesh's export oriented apparels sector by undertaking an indepth examination of the relative competitiveness correlates of Bangladesh and China in the US market and study their implications for Bangladesh's apparels export to the US market. Towards this, the study investigates the export performance of Bangladesh and China in the US market and price dynamics, and identifies the sources of strengths and weaknesses of Bangladesh vis-à-vis China.Apparels, Export, US market, China, Bangladesh

NAMA Negotiations in the WTO and Preference Erosion: Concerns of Bangladesh and Other Regional LDCs

The ongoing negotiations on non-agricultural market access (NAMA) in the WTO are expected to lead to substantive reductions in the tariff rates on industrial goods in both the developed and the developing countries. Although an agreement on the formula and coefficient(s) is yet to be reached, it is becoming increasingly clear that countries are moving towards a differentiated swiss-type formula with deeper cuts for higher tariffs. The July (2004) Framework Agreement stipulated that LDCs will not be required to undertake any tariff reduction commitments under the NAMA. However, LDCs are likely to suffer substantive tariff preference erosion as a consequence of NAMA negotiations since any tariff reduction by the developed countries will result in a fall in the preferential margins currently enjoyed by the LDCs under the various GSP schemes operated by the developed countries. Consequently, the competitive edge currently enjoyed by the LDCs by taking advantage of the preferential treatment under the various GSP schemes is set to suffer erosion. This is a major concern for Bangladesh and other LDCs in the Asia-Pacific region. This paper attempts to make an estimate about the range of preferential erosion for Bangladesh given her current trade pattern and preferential treatment enjoyed by her exports. The paper finds that for Bangladesh, the preferential erosion could be substantial (e.g. $42.1 million worth of net preference erosion in the EU alone for RMG products under one of the possible scenarios). Reduced preference margin will also undermine future competitiveness in the developed country markets. It is also to be noted that tariff reductions under NAMA will have positive implications for Bangladesh in the US market where most of Bangladesh’s industrial goods do not enjoy GSP treatment. Thus, tariff reduction under NAMA is expected to have diverse implications for Bangladesh’s export of industrial goods. NAMA, thus, may increase Bangladesh’s competitive edge vis-à-vis Caribbean and Sub-Sahara African countries which are currently enjoying zero-tariff access for apparels under the AGOA and the CBI. The paper reviews some of the proposals that are being discussed to address the possible negative consequences of preference erosion for the LDCsWTO-General Council, NAMA, Bangladesh