Indo-Lanka FTA - bilateral trade grown, but Sri Lanka lags behind: Ravi K
Colombo, Nov 8. (Daily Mirror) - The Indo-Lanka bilateral trade volume has grown exponentially, but Sri Lanka appears to be a loser with a trade gap heavily in favour of India, Parliament was informed today.
Raising a question under Standing Order 27 (2), National Democratic Front (NDF) MP Ravi Karunanayake said that the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries entered into force 25 years ago and that both sides completed tariff liberalisation by 2008.
He said Sri Lanka's exports to the Indian market amounted to only USD 884 million last year, whereas imports stood at USD 3.76 billion during the period.
Asserting that the FTA is now outdated and non-tariff barriers stand in the way of realising the full potential of trade, he said the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) is the solution. He recalled that India had asked for the appointment of a chief negotiator to resume talks on ETCA.
"We cannot ignore the global context. India is well on track to become the world's third largest economy by 2027. As transformation unfolds, Sri Lanka should position itself as a partner, influencer and facilitator in India's supply chains, logistics corridors and services integration," he said.
He asked the government to declare its position in this regard.
Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said he will provide his answer in a week.
