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| Kathmandu, Tuesday December 31, 2002 Paush 16, 2059. |
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SAARC misses yet another
deadline to finalise SAFTA draft treaty framework
By Milan Mani Sharma
KATHMANDU, Dec 30 The South Asian countries have
missed yet another deadline to finalise the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) draft
treaty framework after the Committee of Experts (CoE) meeting ended yesterday in the
capital inconclusively.
The joint secretaries level body of CoE, that
had tough negotiations till late on the final day of the meeting, ended with general
concensus to finalise the SAFTA draft treaty framework only after conducting an in-depth
evaluation on implications of transition to free trade area from preferential trading
arrangement on member countries.
"Although the joint secretaries had the
option of extending the meeting for a day, they decided to end the meeting after all
concurred on the point that the detailed study on implications of free trade area was
necessary for settling the existing differences," said a highly placed source.
From the very onset, the member countries had
debated on whether to finalise the draft in the latest meeting. "The latest outcome
of the meeting has pushed the finalisation of the SAFTA draft treaty framework impossible
within the deadline," he said.
The deadline to frame the draft treaty ends on
Tuesday, as per the directives issued by the 11th the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) Summit held in the capital early this year. This is the second time
the SAARC Secretariat, endowed with the responsibility to finalise the SAFTA draft treaty
framework has failed to meet the deadline. Earlier deadline matured in December 31, 2001.
The latest development, meanwhile, has left the
finalisation of the draft treaty impossible for the next six months, as a SAARC
Secretariat-appointed Sri Lanka-based consultant, Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), has
been asked to submit the final report by March-end, 2003.
"And, the member countries have sought
additional two/three months for studying the report and agreeing to it," said the
source. "As a result, the next meeting of the CoE is not possible at least within the
next six months," he said, adding that it was a major jolt to the economic
cooperation front in the slackened SAARC process.
During the three-day meeting, the commerce joint
secretaries discussed all 25 articles of the SAARC Secretariat-prepared preliminary draft
framework of SAFTA treaty. "But, existing differences has not been narrowed yet and
the representatives from the member states are still to concur on key issues related to
trade facilitation measures," he said.
Also the issues like reduction of tariff and
non-tariff barriers and providing facilities to the least developed countries could not be
addressed resolutely during the meeting, according to the source. The meeting also failed
to thrash out possible approaches and time frame of tariff reduction. Even the issue of
rules of origin, in which the least developed members have sought for certain facilities,
could not be settled, he said.
Revenue compensatory mechanism, the issue that
Bangladesh raised and other least developed countries of the region supported, too was not
addressed during the meeting. Thrashing out certain mechanism for compensating the revenue
loss from the tariff reduction is billed as an important factor to determine the success
of the free trade area, added the source.
"Even when the member states failed to
agree on existing trade related matters, Sri Lanka and Maldives added another complication
by raising the issue of endorsing the categorisation of ‘smaller countries’
within the SAARC group and providing facilities to them," said the source. The
three-day meet was held to score down the differences amongst the member states on key
issues, including that on the reduction and revocation of tariff and non-tariff barriers
and adoption of trade facilitation measures. The issues, though already discussed in the
preliminary draft twice during its second and third meeting, are yet to be settled.
While critics are raising questions if the next
CoE meeting can be held within the next six to seven months, the SAARC Secretariat,
issuing a press release, has said that the fifth CoE meet would be held at the earliest
for finalising the draft treaty.
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