Ensure level playing field for locals before diving into ETCA and other negotiations

The Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) on Tuesday urged the Government to establish a level playing field for Sri Lankans first before undertaking discussions on trade and services liberalisation.

The chamber was raising this issue in the context of discussions on trade agreements including the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement

(ETCA) with India. "We are requesting the Sri Lankan Government to first establish a level playing field for Sri Lankan citizens, before proceeding with any further measures on trade or service liberalisation," it said in a statement.

The Government has said it was discussing trade and services agreements with India, China and Singapore, among others.

The chamber in a statement listed the following issues which it feels is important: 1. Necessity to establish a manpower regulatory mechanism. Under various trade agreements commercial presence of overseas companies are facilitated and foreign employees are permitted to be employed in companies established in Sri Lanka. We observe that there is no mechanism or institutional arrangement to assess the qualifications of such employees, regulate and evaluate the necessity and the suitability to be employed in the country, and finally authorise and register them for employment. Since, the objective of facilitating such employment is to acquire special skilled manpower to the country, it is mandatory to establish a proper regulatory mechanism for assessing the manpower requirement of the country, evaluate and foreign manpower and register them for employment. Such a regulatory body is non-existent at present and that has to be established. Many other countries are maintaining efficient regulatory mechanisms. 2. Necessity for scrutinizing and authorising foreign investments: We observe that there is a gap in assessing real economic benefits to the country in terms of backward linkage, employment generation, technology transfer, environmental factors, etc when foreign direct investment projects are approved by various institutions in the country. As at present investments which do not make any positive contribution to the country are getting in through various channels. Instead of making a positive impact these investments continuously drain out foreign exchange reserves of the country hindering real economic development. There is no need to allow foreign investments that will eventually deteriorate the economy. Hence, we believe that there is a dire necessity for establishing a single institutional mechanism for all FDIs, to scrutinize and evaluate the suitability to the country rather than merely looking at the face value of the investments. We also request the government to revisit various investment provisions previously granted from time to time by the Sri Lankan government through gazette notifications in the past facilitating undesired foreign investments. 3. Necessity for establishing proper domestic regulatory mechanisms with regard to all services liberalized under GATS: It is necessary to establish appropriate regulatory mechanisms in order to avoid negative consequences that may occur due to services liberalisation commitments made to GATS. This will ensure a fair level playing field for domestic service providers against foreign service providers. It may also be necessary to negotiate with WTO on the necessary rectifications of the Horizontal Commitments on GATS. 4. Urgency of activating Anti-Dumping measures in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is still to enact anti-dumping legislation in the country to control dumping of products causing severe injuries to domestic industries. Hence, there is an urgency to enact strict "anti-dumping" legislation. 5. Need of an effective National Trade Policy We strongly believe that the country's international trade agreements should be aligned with the National Trade Policy. Hence, we request the government to first establish the national trade policy in consultations with all stake holders, and then prepare all trade agreements to be in line with that. Such a National Trade Policy should also be mindful of mergers and acquisitions that may ultimately lead to unacceptable monopolised market positions. Hence, it is vital for the National Trade Policy to address this matter as well. 6. Other necessary legislation The "Way Forward to Liberalisation" document prepared by the professionals of Sri Lanka has been presented to the government, and the trade chambers listing out important areas to be strengthened prior to further liberalisation. We urge the government to make a serious note of these requirements and take necessary steps to prioritise and facilitate these. "Hence, taking into account the national interest we request the government to first facilitate a level playing field to Sri Lankans by establishing the efficient regulatory mechanisms prior to conclusion of any international or bilateral trade agreements. "