The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India may be signed anywhere between six months to one year says the President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) Nawaz Rajabdeen. "There were a few who did not agree with the idea to sign CEPA during the SAARC Summit and it will only be finalized after more stake holder deliberations," Rajabdeen told the Island Financial Review. He said that it would take six to twelve months before CEPA is ready for signing by the two governments of India and Sri Lanka. "The government wants to make sure that Sri Lanka will benefit from CEPA and prevent India from taking undue benefits from what we had to offer." Rajabdeen said that Sri Lanka could not exploit the benefits of the FTA with India as many businesses are unaware of what India had to offer in terms of its negative lists. "The Indians had been well informed about what they can import from Sri Lanka and had been able to reap better dividends," he said. However, there had been instances where Indian companies had opened up manufacturing plants in Sri Lanka to take advantage of duty free exports. Vansapathis is just one example of how the Indians manipulated the FTA to their advantage. Dr Bandula Perera, Managing Director of Samson Rajarata Tiles (Pvt) Limited, who also served with the Board of Investments, last month said that many Indian companies had established vanaspathi plants here in Sri Lanka. The majority of these companies subsequently closed down when India restricted vanaspathi exports, directly violating the terms of the FTA. He said that the Indian companies that were set up on our soil had not even facilitated technology transfers because they brought 18th century industrial processes. "The Indians are intimidating and unmovable," Dr. Perera said about the non-tariff barriers which prevented Sri Lankan companies making full use of the FTA. Interestingly, an Indian tax specialist said that the Indian bureaucracy was a problem to Indian nationals themselves and not just to Sri Lankans. The FCCISL, together with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, came under fire from some industrialists for propagating the signing of CEPA at the SAARC Summit. They said that that the two chambers did not represent the entire industrial sector. However, Rajabdeed says that Sri Lanka stands to gain from CEPA. "The government will be looking at establishing technological transfers and creating more employment opportunities for our people," he said. Rajabdeen said that technology from the European region and America would cost more than from India which is established as an ICT hub. "It will only make sense to get the technological impetus to our economy from are closest neighbor." Rajabdeen says that the government will not allow the Indians to unduly exploit the conditions under CEPA. "The lessons of the FTA have been learned," he said. "More seminars and workshops will be carried out in the coming months so that CEPA will receive wider dissemination and industrialists who claimed no consultation took place now have the chance to engage the authorities." A four day SAARC Trade Fair will commence from 29 August at the BMICH and is expected to boost trade links not only with India but with the rest of the region. |
