SAFTA members to talk reduction in sensitive lists, tariffs

SOUTH Asian countries will hold discussions on reducing the sensitive lists and tariffs to effectively implement the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) during a meeting scheduled to be held in Kathmandu from Tuesday. The Committee of Experts on Reduction of the Sensitive Lists and the Committee of Experts on Non-tariff Measures and Para Tariff Measures (NTM and PTM) under the SAFTA will discuss the matters during the threeday meeting, according to officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies. The Committee of Experts on Reduction of the Sensitive Lists will meet on Monday to review the progress made in the implementation of the revised sensitive lists devised after the second meeting of the expert group held on January 1, 2012. The sensitive list includes products and services on which the tariffs have not been brought down. The meeting of the Committee of Experts on NTM and PTM will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, which will discuss on reducing tariffs to zero gradually within 2013, said the ministry officials. Both are the joint secretary- level committees. Nepal has maintained a sensitive list of 998 goods for least developed countries (LDCs) and 1,036 goods for non-LDCs. India has included 25 items for LDCs and 614 for non-LDCs, while Sri Lanka has 845 items for LDCs and 906 items for non-LDCs. Bangladesh’s list include 987 products for LDCs and 993 for non-LDCs. Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives have 858, 156 and 154 items, respectively, on their sensitive lists. These three countries have not prepared separate sensitive lists for LDCs and non-LDCs. A high-level ministry official said Nepal has reduced the number of goods on its sensitive lists following the decision of the expert committee’s second meeting. The budget for this fiscal year has also announced adopting new provisions for the implementation of the agreement. “Given the size, volume and pattern of the trade, Nepal is not in position to further reduce the goods under its sensitive lists,” he said, adding the sensitive lists maintained by India have been the major hindrance to increasing Nepal’s export to its southern neighbor, the biggest trading partner. He, however, said Nepali representatives would ask member countries to reduce the number of goods on their sensitive lists during the meeting. Trade expert Ratnakar Adhikary said such a large number of items on the sensitive lists have remained as one of the greatest hurdles to intraregional trade. He said although nothing has been mentioned clearly, there has been a general understanding to reduce the number of products under the sensitive lists by 2016. “It has been mutually understood that the products under the sensitive lists should not be more than 5 percent of the total tariff line,” Adhikary said. During the meeting of the Expert Committee on NTM and PTM, Nepal will request India to set up “mirror labs” in both the countries. “The basic concept of setting up the lab is once a product is tasted in such a lab in Nepal and are proved to be genuine; it should not be again tested in India and vice versa,” said a ministry source. He said as SAFTA aims to bring down all the tariffs to zero within 2013, much of the attention should be given to checking NTM and PTM. The last meeting of the Committee of Experts on NTM and PTM was held in 2007. Although another Expert Group on Trade in Services was also scheduled to meet, it could not be held after no other member countries submitted their revised lists of service items to be traded within and beyond the region.