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Indian foreign secratary assured yesterday that Bangladesh will get duty free access in Indian Market by december of this year. But we didn't find any assurance from him about the sensitive list. I think DFQF access will be least beneficial for LDCs if India and Pakistan will put the major exporting items of LDCs into sensitive basket.So as special and differential treatment there should be a condition in SAFTA provision like that Developing countries can not put a specific number of top exporting items(50% of top ten,or twenty,.. items) of LDCs into their sensitive list. Then DFQF access will be welfare enhancing.

I think all the member countries of South Asia are now aware that long sensitive list can make any trade agreement redundant. Big nations have long been fooling LDCs by including a long sensitive list. However for their own benefit India and Pakistan should provide real DFQF entry of goods from LDCs. I think it has to be make mandatory to provide explanation for keeping a sector in the sensitive list. We also have to give attention to free entry of services like cross border movement of natural persons, telecom facilities etc.

Without many controversies, now it can be said that Bangladesh may increase her welfare gain if she receives DFQF market access from India. However, will India benefit from removing non-tariff barriers/ duties on textiles and garments/ prohibitive high tariffs on agricultural products to her South Asian neighbor? Or, will India benefit much if she continues her unilateral liberalization policy. According to some influential studies, the second option will be better for India. If that is so, then it is likely that India will follow her strategy. Despite this fact, there may exist some issues on which two countries should concentrate more, such as, infrastructure facilities related with the transportation system, a unified banking arrangement and a co-operative custom administration. Given the status-quo, these initiatives may prove worthwhile in many years to come.

It is crystal clear that unless the major economies of this region(India,Pakistan,Sri Lanka)do not cut down there negative lists(SLs)then SAFTA will be in a deadlock like what happened in Potsdam,Germany.In the mean time we should look upone whether there are possibilities of trade creation in Bangladesh in those goods which are not in the negative list basket on other countries.We should also identify the unnessesary huge non-trade barriars and take actions to remove those barriars.