PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marie K. Thompson
DATE: February 28, 2002
IFDC Releases
New Publication--Implications of the Uruguay Round Agreements for
Agriculture and Agribusiness Development in Bangladesh
 IFDC has released a
paper that analyzes the implications of the Uruguay Round Agreements
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) for Bangladesh
agriculture and agribusiness development with a special focus on
processed cereals and dairy products, edible oils, poultry products,
fruits and vegetables, fertilizers and agricultural machinery. The
authors of the paper include: Dr. B. L. Bumb, IFDC Program Leader
and Principal Economist; D. I. Gregory, IFDC Program Leader and
Principal Specialist—Agribusiness; A. Rab, Senior Consultant, and
M. Abdullah, Credit Specialist, Agrobased Industries and Technology
Development Project (ATDP).
This paper assesses
the opportunities opened by the Uruguay Round Agreements. The
authors conclude that in the future, "Bangladesh should reduce
its tariff bounds to realistic levels so that the country does not
send the wrong signal to potential agribusiness investors." In
addition, there is a need to make investments in marketing
infrastructure and institutions so that the country can realize
potential benefits resulting from the Uruguay Round Agreement on
Agriculture (URAA) in the field of processed agricultural goods.
This publication will be of interest to policymakers, researchers,
donors, and agribusiness specialists.
A draft of the
paper was presented at the Round Table Conference on the
Consequences of the Uruguay Round Agreement for Bangladesh
Agriculture in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in July 1999. With support from
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ministry of
Agriculture of the Government of Bangladesh organized the Round
Table. Comments received at the Round Table are reflected in the
paper.
The Uruguay Round
was the eighth round of the GATT initiated in 1947. It was one of
the longest and yet unique rounds. The negotiations under this round
were initiated in 1986 and concluded in 1993, and agriculture was
included for the first time under the GATT rules. The URAA required
both developed and developing countries to reduce tariffs, cut
export subsidies, and minimize domestic support to agriculture.
However, the least developed countries, such as Bangladesh, have
been exempted from these reduction commitments.
Bangladesh’s
prevailing subsidies and tariffs are consistent with the URAA
commitments. For
many commodities, operating (actual) tariffs were lower than the
tariff bounds indicated by Bangladesh in the World Trade
Organization (WTO) schedules.
This publication
(Technical Bulletin IFDC-T-64) can be ordered online at www.ifdc.org.
The cost of the 69-page publication is US $10.00.
Return
to What's New?
|
