ETCA needs transparency, says author on ‘Global Trade’ book
Naazima Kamardeen
Sri Lanka’s trade ties need to be conducted in a more transparent environment including the present negotiations on the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India, author of a new book on trade due to be released next week, said on Thursday.
Naazima Kamardeen, author of the book titled “Global Trade and Sri Lanka: Which Way Forward”, told the Business Times in an interview at the Law Faculty, University of Colombo where she is Director in International Trade Law and a senior lecturer, that there should be public discussion and transparency in these negotiations but asserted that she was not opposed to any regional or trade agreement.
Commenting on the much talked about Mode 4 clause in the ETCA discussion allowing for trade in services of professionals, she explained that the fear was mostly that this could lead to sub standard persons from India entering the Sri Lankan workforce.
In this respect, Sri Lanka needs to first prepare the groundwork before opening its doors, Ms. Kamardeen said.
In fact, she pointed out that given the current status of India it was uncertain whether Sri Lankans would be attracted to work in that country despite the opening up of the services sector.
On the other hand, the author noted that in these negotiations it was unlikely that Sri Lanka would stand to gain from this agreement as India would not easily open up its market to products in which the former could make profits.
Currently, ETCA is involved in the opening up of the services sector in the IT and shipbuilding sectors and it was found that Sri Lanka was a better market for the IT sector in doing business compared to India as stated by the Network Readiness Index, Ms. Kamardeen said. This index measures the propensity for countries to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communications technology (ICT).
The domestic standards need to be in place before bringing down professionals that could lead to the infiltration of a sub standard workforce entering the market, she said.
However, she does not dismiss the importance of India noting that the sub continent can also be “our best ally.”
The book itself discusses the trade agreements on the basis of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) standards and how these agreements need to be entered into keeping in mind the consequences of pulling out of them in the event they do not prove good for the country, she said.
Entering trade agreements is crucial and Sri Lanka seems to have had a bad track record of dispute settlement as a result of which “it would be best if it’s put forward to the people.”
Going back on a trade pact could have consequences like higher tariffs imposed on some of the other exporting products to that particular country, she said.
Ms. Kamardeen believes that today India is looking at developing its country through trading services and “sharpen its teeth by starting here.”
The 150 page book on sale from this Wednesday at a cost of Rs.790 published by Lake House Publishers is said to be a legal analysis of trade agreements and how the WTO guidelines must be taken into account when entering into trade pacts.
Ms. Kamardeen obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Colombo and proceeded to Georgetown University USA as a Fulbright Junior Scholar, where she completed the Master of Laws Degree in International Legal Studies. She subsequently completed her Doctoral Studies at the University of Colombo, specialising in the impact of the WTO on the collective rights to traditional knowledge. She is also an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. She has published widely in a number of areas of law, including intellectual property law, WTP law, environmental law and trade and investment.