OPA hits back at Ministry on FTAs
View(s):The Organisation of Professionals Association (OPA) has said that repeated meetings with stakeholder groups on trade agreements were of no consequence unless their proposal for a National Trade Policy was enacted.
Making reference to a document (OPA) submitted to the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade (MODSIT) on April 22, 2016, the OPA in an August 22 letter sent to MODSIT noted that no work has got underway to implement a National Trade Policy which was at the time proposed to the government that had thereafter agreed to enact the laws necessary in this regard.
Responding to an invitation sent by MODSIT to the OPA the latter noted that another stakeholder meeting conducted on the FTA would only steer discussions back to the start when such a policy was first proposed.
They stated that what was essential was a National Trade Policy outlining the national policy on both domestic and international trade in goods and services; secondly a Domestic Regulatory Framework for both domestic and international trade in goods and services; and thirdly a National Procedure/Process for negotiating bilateral or multilateral international agreements for the liberalisation of trade in goods and services.
They pointed out that these must be enacted prior to obtaining approval from the Legislative and Executive bodies for the conduct of a FTA.
The OPA submitted the “Trade Liberalization: The Way Forward” document which the OPA noted the government had at the time of accepting it agreed to implement its contents for a national trade policy.
However, the authorities had gone ahead and signed a FTA with Singapore overlooking this proposal by the OPA.
In this respect, the OPA noted that holding consultative meetings with stakeholders on FTAs without enacting the National Ground Rules will turn discussions to the same start point, which all stakeholders were on February 16, 2016 during the first such meeting convened by the MODSIT.
As such the OPA insisted that the MODIST must first make the relevant arrangements and the timeline for enacting the National Ground Rules based on the recommendation of the Committee of Experts appointed by the President in a bid to participate in stakeholder consultative meetings at MODSIT with productive inputs of professionals in the country.