Staff Reporter :
When the Nairobi Ministerial declaration failed to remove global trade barriers significantly, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed termed it as ‘successful’ one, saying the conference had given the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) several gains.
The minister came out with claim while briefing journalists in the auditorium of his ministry on Monday about the outcome of the just concluded WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference held in Kenyan capital Nairobi from December 15-19.
“LDCs have made several gains from the conference as it reduced trade barriers for the forum in some key areas,” said Tofail Ahmed, who led a 21-member delegation in the conference as a coordinator for the LDCs.
He said being a coordinator of the LDCs he tried to uphold interest of the forum and negotiated with developed countries on several issues to overcome the existing trade barriers.
“We have been able to insert into the declaration that regional treaties should be coherent with the WTO,” he said.
The commerce minister said, “Since the ministerial conferences require a 100 percent consensus, it was difficult for everyone to reach to a
single word. A concise draft was adopted and, of course, Bangladesh was also a part of it.”
The resolution was one of the key factors in the WTO ministerial meet and, according to the commerce minister, the resolution created the pressure required to include adequate facilities for LDCs in the declaration.
“The declaration includes reducing 25 percent of the Rule of Origin and prioritising LDCs,” said the minister. He said the extension of drug patent exemption under the TRIPS Agreement until 2033 was a major achievement for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s Tk 12 billion drug market is dominated by local manufacturers and many of them export, using this privilege under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
“None of the LDCs, except Bangladesh has a pharma industry. This extension might allow us to secure a place in the global market within a short span of time.
Tofail Ahmed said that he talked to the US delegation but did not mention the issue of GSP. He said that he requested the Director General of World Trade Organization (WTO) to realise trade preference for the LDCs, which they require for attaining sustainable growth.
“I had emphasised the need for meaningful outcome on rules of origin for LDCs, operationalisation of LDC service waiver, duty-free-quota-free (DFQF) market access for LDCs, extension of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) during transition period of pharmaceutical products and conclusion of Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in the conference” he said.
Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, Vice-Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Shuvasish Basu, President of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Syed Nasim Manzur, Vice-President of BGMEA Mohammad Nasir, Chairman of Incepta Pharma Abdul Muktadir and officials of the Commerce Ministry attended the conference, among others.
The Ninth Conference in Indonesia’s Bali in 2013 sealed a deal as WTO members during the previous round in Geneva had failed to reach an agreement.
The Bali conference agreed to its first ever global deal, which would add US$ 1 trillion to the global economy in trade by providing developing countries better access to developed markets. But the 2013 deals created problems this year in Nairobi, Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon said. “The US did not even want to agree on the matters which were adopted in Doha (in 2001).”
The secretary said that the member states had to go through a lot to ‘reach a consensus’.
When the Nairobi Ministerial declaration failed to remove global trade barriers significantly, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed termed it as ‘successful’ one, saying the conference had given the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) several gains.
The minister came out with claim while briefing journalists in the auditorium of his ministry on Monday about the outcome of the just concluded WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference held in Kenyan capital Nairobi from December 15-19.
“LDCs have made several gains from the conference as it reduced trade barriers for the forum in some key areas,” said Tofail Ahmed, who led a 21-member delegation in the conference as a coordinator for the LDCs.
He said being a coordinator of the LDCs he tried to uphold interest of the forum and negotiated with developed countries on several issues to overcome the existing trade barriers.
“We have been able to insert into the declaration that regional treaties should be coherent with the WTO,” he said.
The commerce minister said, “Since the ministerial conferences require a 100 percent consensus, it was difficult for everyone to reach to a
single word. A concise draft was adopted and, of course, Bangladesh was also a part of it.”
The resolution was one of the key factors in the WTO ministerial meet and, according to the commerce minister, the resolution created the pressure required to include adequate facilities for LDCs in the declaration.
“The declaration includes reducing 25 percent of the Rule of Origin and prioritising LDCs,” said the minister. He said the extension of drug patent exemption under the TRIPS Agreement until 2033 was a major achievement for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s Tk 12 billion drug market is dominated by local manufacturers and many of them export, using this privilege under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
“None of the LDCs, except Bangladesh has a pharma industry. This extension might allow us to secure a place in the global market within a short span of time.
Tofail Ahmed said that he talked to the US delegation but did not mention the issue of GSP. He said that he requested the Director General of World Trade Organization (WTO) to realise trade preference for the LDCs, which they require for attaining sustainable growth.
“I had emphasised the need for meaningful outcome on rules of origin for LDCs, operationalisation of LDC service waiver, duty-free-quota-free (DFQF) market access for LDCs, extension of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) during transition period of pharmaceutical products and conclusion of Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in the conference” he said.
Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, Vice-Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Shuvasish Basu, President of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Syed Nasim Manzur, Vice-President of BGMEA Mohammad Nasir, Chairman of Incepta Pharma Abdul Muktadir and officials of the Commerce Ministry attended the conference, among others.
The Ninth Conference in Indonesia’s Bali in 2013 sealed a deal as WTO members during the previous round in Geneva had failed to reach an agreement.
The Bali conference agreed to its first ever global deal, which would add US$ 1 trillion to the global economy in trade by providing developing countries better access to developed markets. But the 2013 deals created problems this year in Nairobi, Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon said. “The US did not even want to agree on the matters which were adopted in Doha (in 2001).”
The secretary said that the member states had to go through a lot to ‘reach a consensus’.
