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| Sunday, 11 December 2005 |
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Lanka to call for more access at WTO meetings by Surekha Galagoda Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Marketing Development Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle will lead a seven-member delegation to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meetings to be held from December 13-18 in Hong Kong. At the discussions the Sri Lankan delegation will call for more market access for our products in keeping with the vision of President Mahinda Rajapakse's Mahinda Chinthanaya. According to a spokesman for the delegation during the Uruguay round of talks in 1996 Sri Lanka bound our agriculture tariff rates at 50% and if we are called upon to reduce our tariff rates further we will find it difficult and in that event we will agree to a minimum cut as we cannot agree to a formula cut. The special products concept accepted in the negotiations will not be subject to any tariff reduction. Under this concept rural agriculture such as rice, onions, potatoes and cowpea will be protected. In addition under the special safeguard mechanism concept in the event an import concept surge takes place Sri Lanka will be able to increase her tariff thereby protecting domestic agriculture. According to the spokesman countries such as Sri Lanka can maintain her applied tariffs in the industrial sector without further reduction as this has been accepted by the WTO and is in the ministerial draft text. Speaking of the services sector, he said that Sri Lanka has made initial offers to make limited liberalisation in the telecommunication, finance and tourism sectors but assured that the sectors of education, health and professional services will not be liberalised. The country might consider liberalising the infrastructure sector in the future. Sri Lanka welcomes the movement of persons for short-term assignments overseas. During his visit to Hong Kong the minister is scheduled to hold discussions with the trade ministers of India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and EC Commissioner of Trade, US, Group of 33, developing country group and meetings on bilateral issues. The members of the delegation will include Ministry Secretary Dr R.M.K. Ratnayake, Director General Department of Commerce K.J. Weerasinghe, Director, Neil Magedaragamage, Dr R.H.S. Samaratunga from the Finance Ministry, and Dr Weerasinghe from the Economic Reasearch Department of the Central Bank and a representative from the Foreign Ministry. |
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