Economists, researchers say at BGMEA-BFTI seminar
Economists and researchers on Thursday said that the proposed free trade agreements between European Union and India and between EU and Vietnam would not pose any threat to the Bangladesh’s exports but the country’s internal factors were the challenges for its competitiveness in the export markets.
They made the opinion in a seminar on ‘Implication of EU-India FTA and EU-Vietnam FTA on Bangladesh’s Export’, jointly organised by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute at the BGMEA office in the capital on Thursday.
Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh executive director Ahsan H Mansur said, ‘It is not a new phenomenon that Vietnam is growing fast but I am not worried about it.’
There are some countries in the world that get additional benefits due to political reason and Vietnam is one of them, he said.
Due to a strong political relationship Vietnam is getting both the duty and investment facilities and increasing their exports to the US market, Mansur said.
‘Increasing of investment and enhancing of economic diplomacy are more important things for Bangladesh than signing an FTA,’ he said.
Mansur said that Myanmar and Cambodia might be the future competitors for the Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector.
Zillul Hye Razi, trade adviser of the EU delegation to Bangladesh, said that Vietnam and India were not threat to Bangladesh as their export items were not same as Bangladesh’s products.
‘I do not think external factors are threat to the Bangladesh’s exports but the country should address internal factors like political stability and infrastructure,’ he said.
Former Tariff Commission chairman Mujibur Rahman said Vietnam was not competitor of Bangladesh as it made mostly high end products but India was a competitor.
‘We will have to increase capacity. Otherwise any agreement would not bring benefit,’ said Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
She suggested that the government should address the problems like lack of power, electricity and infrastructure.
‘We need to solve the problems within the country and we have to have proper political environment,’ Nazneen said.
Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed said that as a least developed country Bangladesh was getting duty-free and quota-free market access in many countries and the government would try to sign FTAs with those countries which were yet to give the facility.
Vietnam is growing fast due to political stability and the country relaxed their rules and regulations so that anyone can invest in the country, he said.
Tofail admitted that Bangladesh has scarcity of land, electricity and gas but Vietnam does not.
The commerce minister said if India and Vietnam sign FTAs with the EU, Bangladesh would not suffer.
Bangladesh is likely to get duty-free access in Malaysia, Brazil, Chile and Argentina, he said.
Acting BFTI chief executive officer Mostafa Abid Khan presented the keynote paper in the seminar.
In the paper he said that Bangladesh was likely to face competitive pressure from both India and Vietnam in the knit apparel and footwear sectors if the countries receive duty-free treatment in the EU under the proposed FTAs.
Sate minister for foreign affairs Shariar Alam, BGMEA president Md Atiqul Islam and garment worker leader Nazma Akter also spoke at the programme.
Source: New Age
