Adjustment to help affected with FTAS: Malik

Government will come up with a comprehensive trade adjustment package to those sectors which are likely to be affected by free trade agreements (FTAS) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama told Parliament yesterday.

“Anyone who says we should be careful before opening up because we might not be able to compete is doing Sri Lanka a great injustice. Our tyres are used by world’s top class aircrafts, our surgical gloves are used by world class surgeons. We can compete our industries have already showing how it is done,” the Minister said.

He said the FTA signed with Singapore will bring in much needed investments to Sri Lanka. Anyone who says we should be careful before opening up because we might not be able to compete is doing Sri Lanka a great injustice

The Minister refuted the claim made by the opposition that FTA has not received cabinet approval. He said cabinet of ministers were first updated in August 2017. He said a cabinet paper was submitted by him on December 21 2017. “The positive response made by the President and 14 other cabinet Ministers, a revised cabinet paper was submitted on January 16 2018,” he said.

State Minister Dr. Harsha De Silva said Sri Lanka should not allow itself to isolate itself as a result of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which is going to be signed between ten members states of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and six Asia Pacific countries namely Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand next year. “Sri Lanka will be isolated if it does not join these countries,” Dr De Silva said.