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Economic Policy:
Introduction: Global economic situation and its impact on different sectors.
Bangladesh along with other countries is now within the purview and complexities in the
economic arena due to global economic situation prevailing elsewhere. The change of
economic order has led Bangladesh to think over how to overcome the negative impact of globalization. This paper is an analytical study on the subject.
The Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations which was started in September 1986 in Punta del Este, Uruguay and concluded in April 1994 in Marrakesh, Morocco, resulted in the adoption of what has been most aptly described as the most ambitious and comprehensive trade agreement in history. The agreement led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which came into force on January 1, 1995, effectively replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT).
WTO agreement clarifies and strengthens rules with respect to a number of trade policy
instruments- in particular in safeguards, anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, and dispute settlement mechanism. It was believed that the detailed elaboration of rules and tightening of multilateral disciplines in these four areas will encourage the poor and weaker nations to effectively participate in, and derive benefits from, the new world trading arrangement. The purpose of this paper is to make a qualitative assessment of the impact of the new rules and disciplines on the developed and developing countries with particular reference to Bangladesh.
The paper seeks to present a comprehensive economic situation obtaining globally including Bangladesh due to introduction of a number of international agreements. The overview is as under:
1.1 Uruguay Round and Market Access:
The new market access measures of the Uruguay Round within the framework of the new World Trade Organization (WTO) relate not only to trade in goods but also to trade in services. Further more they include, in addition to tariff reductions, the phasing out of the Multi- Fiber Arrangement (MFA) and the integration of Agriculture in the multilateral trading framework. More extensive rules have also been set down concerning non-tariff measures. Among the measures agreed to in the Uruguay Round to increase market access and make it more secure in the years to come are:
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Developed countries have agreed to reduce their tariffs on industrial goods from an
average of 6.30% to 3.80%, a 40% reduction.
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The proportion of industrial products which enter the developed country markets under
Most Favored Nation (MFN) with zero duties will be more than double, from 20% to
40%. At the higher end of the tariff structure, the proportion of impo rts into developed
countries from all sources that encounter tariffs above 15% will decline from 7% to
5%, and from 9% to 5% for imports from developing countries.
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The percentage of bound tariff lines for industrial products has risen from 78% to 99%
for developed countries, from 21% to 73 % for developing countries and from 73% to
98% for transition economies.
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Minimum market access commitments on agricultural products subject to ratification
will create market opportunities for several product groups of interest to developing
countries.
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While the overall level of protection of agricultural products in most developed
countries will remain well above the level of protection of industrial products at the
end of the Uruguay Round implementation period, agricultural trade has been put
squarely on the path of liberalization. The level of security for trade in agricultural
products will be greater than for trade in industrial products, since virtually 100% of
agricultural product tariff lines will be bound, compared to 83% of industrial product
tariff lines.
1.2 Preaching and Practicing Dilemma:
Winds of change are blowing all over the planet. Yet with new opportunities also come new challenges. Let us share a concern to respond to new patterns of injustice and powerlessness.
We share a commitment to expand the life opportunities of everyone, to empower people to shape their own futures and to enable nations and their common institutions to effectively deal with issues of global concern. National change and global exchange have led to economic development prospects of considerable magnitude. As hundreds of millions of people take the step out of extreme poverty, this potential offers hope to the world’s poor. Simultaneously, however, new patterns of exclusion and inequality have appeared. Marginalization, insecurity and powerlessness are the real consequence for many.
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