Govt. to synergise country’s external trade with newly established Int’l Trade Office

• Says ambition is to first integrate into South Asia and then expand to East
• Asserts there is no alternative but to formulate a robust institutional structure to manage Sri Lanka’s presence in international trade
• First task of ITO will be to take immediate measures to operationalise Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA
• By January 2023, ITO will resume negotiations of three FTAs with India, China and Thailand

In an effort to obtain the maximum output from the external trade sector to the national economy, the government said it would reorganise the existing conventional institutional set-up and newly established International Trade Office (ITO) to interconnect all the relevant institutions and synergise
their work.

Realising the untapped economic potential of trade and investment, via linking with regional and global value chains, is a major element of the government’s economic revival programme, acknowledged the President’s Office this week.

“Towards this end, the ambition is to first integrate into South Asia and then expand to the East; China, Thailand and Indonesia linking to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which consists of 30 percent of the world’s GDP, trade and population,” a statement from the President’s Media Division said.

It added that to achieve the objective, there is no alternative but to formulate a strong institutional structure to manage Sri Lanka’s presence in international trade while removing the existing compartmentalisation of trade-related institutions and eliminating the gaps in the approaches taken by multiple institutions. 

An ambassador of international trade, supported by an eminent group of advisors who has expertise in international trade, will head the ITO, once it is established through an Act of Parliament. The core structure of the institution will consist of designated officers from all the relevant institutions attached to it. 

The National Trade Negotiation Committee, which undertakes the free trade negotiations, will also be an integral part of the ITO. 

As announced in the 2023 Budget Speech, the ITO will initially be established under the Finance Ministry and subsequently, it will be amalgamated into the Foreign Affairs Ministry to implement Sri Lanka’s foreign trade development policy across the world with enhanced and
effective coordination. 

Until the establishment of the ITO is fully completed, the core staff of the institution has been built up at the Presidential Secretariat immediately to start functioning. 

“Accordingly, taking immediate measures to operationalise Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA (SLSFTA), which entered into force in May 2018 but has not been operationalised till now, will be the first task of the ITO.  The joint committee set up in accordance with the SLSFTA, comprising designated officials from both countries, will meet in January 2023 and finalise the modalities to agree on operationalisation,” the statement said. In parallel, by next January, the ITO will resume the negotiations of the three FTAs with India, China and Thailand. The chief negotiator and National Trade Negotiation Committee comprising sub-committees on specific areas have been appointed by the Cabinet for this task. In parallel, the government plans to resume the negotiation of the three FTAs with India, China and Thailand.  The 12th round of negotiations with India, the seventh round of negotiations with China and the third round of negotiations with Thailand will be held during the first two months of 2023. It is planned to complete these negotiations possibly within the next year. Stakeholder consultations will be held with the relevant chambers/associations before and after every round of negotiation to make them aware of the status of negotiations, as they are the ultimate beneficiaries of the FTAs, with enhanced market access.  The first stakeholder awareness programme was held on November 17, 2022. Moreover, simultaneous actions will also be taken through this office to revive the PTA negotiations with Bangladesh and Indonesia. In coordination with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and other related institutions, the ITO will also address and resolve the implementation-related issues related to the existing trade agreements.