Which bilateral, regional, and multilateral trading agreements is your country a part of?
Being a small country in Asian region and having access to a limited but water surrounded geographical area give Sri Lanka trade advantage in some specific region. Sri Lanka is more committed to the multilateral trading system and it believes free trade to be more beneficial. It is an active member of WTO. Sri Lanka had actively participated in the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), as it was convinced that the DDA could bring benefits to trade-dependent small economies like Sri Lanka, through further opening-up of markets.
Sri Lanka is also participating in several regional initiatives groups.
• It’s an active member of Group of 15, an initiative of Non align Movement.
• It’s a member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
• Prominent member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
• It’s also a member of Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation.
• It’s coming under Commonwealth nations.
Though Sri Lanka is party to these regional blocks it had managed to combine this with its obligations regarding the multilateral trading system.
What impact do these treaties have on the tariffs faced by India’s major exports? What is the impact of India’s trade agreements on your country’s exports to India?
India and Sri Lanka shared membership in the South-Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), SAFTA, BIMSTEC and the Indian Ocean Rim Association with regard to trade co-operation. Both the countries also signed an agreement in 1998 to facilitate free trade. India and Sri Lanka are now exploring areas such as se ...