Financial analysts on Monday questioned the government’s signing of
Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement with the United
States as it would reduce the benefits for Bangladesh mandated in
multi-lateral frameworks and realise only the US interests.
The left-leaning political parties rallied in the capital against
signing the deal and called on the government to refrain from inking the
‘deal of slavery’.
Economic analyst and former adviser to a caretaker government, AB Mirza
Azizul Islam, found no rationale of signing the deal considering all its
aspects.
‘First, I would say the timing of signing the deal is not appropriate
when the government is supposed to carry out routine tasks only and the
next government will have to bear the responsibility,’ he said.
He also did not find any substantiation to the arguments brought for
signing the deal including increase of foreign investment, duty and
quota free access of Bangladeshi products to the US and revival of the
generalised system of preferences.
‘I don’t think there will be foreign investment when domestic private
sector investment is decreasing. It requires political stability, proper
infrastructure facility and educated and skilled labour force for
increasing investment,’ he said.
On duty-free access, there were reservations within the US to provide
the facility to Bangladesh as they fear it would result in going the
entire market to Bangladesh,
he said, adding that the recent developments in apparel sector also added fuel not to revive the GSP facility to Bangladesh.
Mirza Aziz said the deal would also impose some obligations over labour
rights and copyright issues on Bangladesh and he did not think it was
right time to accept those.
Dhaka University development studies professor Mahbubullah said the deal
was aimed to bar Bangladesh from realising the benefits of WTO’s
multi-lateral framework as a least developed country and the United
States was continuing to sign such deals with poor nations to deprive
them of benefits and make the multilateral framework not functioning.
‘Signing the deal will also deprive us of concessions as LDC on issues of intellectual property rights,’ he said.
Despite it was said the deal was on trade and investment but it was really a question what was behind it, he added.
Jahangirnagar University economics professor Anu Muhammad, also
secretary of the national committee for the protection of
oil-gas-mineral resources, power and ports, said the election-time
government could not sign the deal on legal grounds and it has no moral
right to sign a deed of slavery without the consent of the people.
‘If signed, it will be another document against national interests which
is immoral and illegal. It will push the economy and politics of
Bangladesh into further long-term stringent chain, economic loss and
obligations. Alongside economic losses, the deal will threaten
sovereignty in some cases,’ he said.
Anu Muhammad said for improving economic relations with the US, signing
of TICFA was not essential rather it requires changing extreme
discriminatory and protective duty policy on Bangladesh on the part of
US, amending or scrapping unequal investment deals, realising
compensation from Chevron for Magurchara blowout and making public the
hidden civil-military deals signed with US.
The Democratic Left Alliance, a combine of eight left leaning political
parties at a rally in front of the National Press Club called on the
election-time government not to sign the deal as it would harm national
interests.
Zonayed Saki, the leader of the combine and chief coordinator of the
Ganasanghati Andolan, said the election-time government had no right to
sign such a deal as it was mandated to carry out routine tasks.
Saiful Huq, the coordinator of the combine, said that the government was
signing such a controversial deal to get support of the US government
to win in the next general elections.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh and Socialist Party of Bangladesh held
a joint rally in front of the Press Club protesting against the TICFA
deal.
Khalequzzaman, the SPB general secretary who chaired the rally, said
that people of the country would not accept such a controversial deal
and the left parties would wage tougher movements to compel the
government to step back from the deal.
The CPB general secretary Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed said that the TICFA deal
would harm the national interests as the US would establish their
controls on the Information Technology and medicine sectors of
Bangladesh.
Ganasanghati Andolan, held a separate protest rally at the same venue,
where its coordinator Abdus Salam and leaders of the party Abul Hasan
Rubel, Julhasin Babu and others spoke. A procession followed the rally.
Four left-leaning political parties, Jatiya Mukti Council, Gana Front,
Naya Ganatantrik Ganamorcha and Jatiya Ganatantrik Ganamancha also held a
protest rally in front of the Press Club.
Jatiya Ganatantrik Front also held a separate protest rally at the same venue. (source)