India is likely to announce duty-free access of some products from Bangladesh and other LDC members of SAARC by the year end, as they assured at the 13th meeting of the SAARC Committee on Economic Cooperation (SAARC-CEC).

"India is working on it and the announcement in this regard is likely to come by the year end," Commerce secretary of Bangladesh Feroz Ahmed told a press conference at the Ministry of Commerce.

All the commerce secretaries of SAARC member states attended the two-day meeting at Hotel Sheraton that concluded recently. The meeting was held after a gap of three years since the 12th SAARC-CEC meeting was held in Islamabad in 2004.

Apprising the meeting's outcome, Feroz Ahmed said India offered the trade preference unilaterally to Bangladesh and other LDC members while Indian officials assured that Bangladesh might get duty-free market access for a substantial number of products.

He said India informed the meeting that they would unilaterally provide duty free access to the LDCs on items, which are not on the sensitive list, by the end of 2007.

Furthermore, he said, they would also substantially reduce their sensitive list for the LDCs aimed at providing duty-free access on the items to be excluded from the sensitive list by end-2008.

Besides, a senior official who attended the meeting said, the SAARC-CEC decided that the Non-Least Developed Countries of SAARC would reduce the tariffs to 0-5 percent for imports from LDCs one year ahead by December 31 this year.

Mr. Rakesh Joshi

Joshi Enterprise

Manager, Joshi Enterprise
Dispur, India

Free Member, Joined :02/02/2007
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