Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed, Former Deputy Director General and Commandant, Ansar VDP Academy :
The present institutional format of trading system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created on 1 January 1995 which replaced by the GATT under which trade rules had been developing from 1948 to meet the evolving needs of participating countries and the global community.
WTO is an institution which represents the multilateral trading system. Immediately after the Second World War, from 1946 to 1948, over 50 countries negotiated to create an International Trade Organization (ITO), which was the third step of the Breton Woods post-war order together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The WTO currently has been accountable for 90% of world trade. Among them over three-quarters of these members are least-developed countries and developing countries. There have been strong feelings that they did not get a fair deal. Since its creation, the WTO never sits Idle. There have been several ministerial meetings; nest agreements on telecommunications services information technology products and financial services. In April, 1999, 170 cases had been brought to the WTO is dispute settlement body.
Because of having the membership of WTO, Bangladesh can trade and share finance related issues with majority countries of the world. The mentality among the policy-makers and the policy-analysts of Bangladesh is in favor of keeping the new round as narrow as possible in order to try to clear the ‘left-over’ business being discussed in Cancun.
Developing countries like Bangladesh have limited contract power due to their limited share in world market. That is why more efforts will need to ensure success. The developed countries should take a greater role to ensure a successful outcome of the issues.
Another serious threat to WTO might come from the marketplace of TRIMs and TRIPs. The result of a technological subjection might come in a silent outflow of a huge exchange every year. Foreign banks and other service organizations are bound to act together with their superior financial and technological support to the local banks and other service institutions that have weak technologies and financial base. It can be tried to design a pro-poor trade reform by identifying the sectors which are important to the poor and take proper steps to improvise the system.
A better approach must be focused on two different sets of instruments in Bangladesh; a trade policy focused on providing the incentives appropriate for efficient production and use of goods services, complemented by policies aimed to redistribute income.
If a reform will announced to implement over several years then a credible normal market adjustment and labor force attrition can be used to relieve adjustment costs. In WTO commitments or a far-reaching regional trade. It is important to address on-tariff barriers and high tariff rates as early as possible. Tariffs should be cut across the board during every stage of a gradual reform. If not the target is set based on the tariff average, the temptation will be to cut tariffs only where they cause no immediate difficulty, postponing adjustments to the last. Based on past experiences, the policy planners of Bangladesh should draw effective strategies under the WTO Agreement.
The present institutional format of trading system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created on 1 January 1995 which replaced by the GATT under which trade rules had been developing from 1948 to meet the evolving needs of participating countries and the global community.
WTO is an institution which represents the multilateral trading system. Immediately after the Second World War, from 1946 to 1948, over 50 countries negotiated to create an International Trade Organization (ITO), which was the third step of the Breton Woods post-war order together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The WTO currently has been accountable for 90% of world trade. Among them over three-quarters of these members are least-developed countries and developing countries. There have been strong feelings that they did not get a fair deal. Since its creation, the WTO never sits Idle. There have been several ministerial meetings; nest agreements on telecommunications services information technology products and financial services. In April, 1999, 170 cases had been brought to the WTO is dispute settlement body.
Because of having the membership of WTO, Bangladesh can trade and share finance related issues with majority countries of the world. The mentality among the policy-makers and the policy-analysts of Bangladesh is in favor of keeping the new round as narrow as possible in order to try to clear the ‘left-over’ business being discussed in Cancun.
Developing countries like Bangladesh have limited contract power due to their limited share in world market. That is why more efforts will need to ensure success. The developed countries should take a greater role to ensure a successful outcome of the issues.
Another serious threat to WTO might come from the marketplace of TRIMs and TRIPs. The result of a technological subjection might come in a silent outflow of a huge exchange every year. Foreign banks and other service organizations are bound to act together with their superior financial and technological support to the local banks and other service institutions that have weak technologies and financial base. It can be tried to design a pro-poor trade reform by identifying the sectors which are important to the poor and take proper steps to improvise the system.
A better approach must be focused on two different sets of instruments in Bangladesh; a trade policy focused on providing the incentives appropriate for efficient production and use of goods services, complemented by policies aimed to redistribute income.
If a reform will announced to implement over several years then a credible normal market adjustment and labor force attrition can be used to relieve adjustment costs. In WTO commitments or a far-reaching regional trade. It is important to address on-tariff barriers and high tariff rates as early as possible. Tariffs should be cut across the board during every stage of a gradual reform. If not the target is set based on the tariff average, the temptation will be to cut tariffs only where they cause no immediate difficulty, postponing adjustments to the last. Based on past experiences, the policy planners of Bangladesh should draw effective strategies under the WTO Agreement.