| 孟加拉国海关税则委员会职能 |
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| 2007-05-20 19:38 文章来源：www.bdtariffcom.org |
| 文章类型：转载 内容分类：其它 |
Functions and Activities of the Commission
According to Bangladesh Tariff Commission Act 1992, the Commission may be required to advise the government on the following:
Promoting the interests of domestic industries;
Promoting competition in industrial production;
Ensuring optimal use of industrial resources;
Promoting exports;
Taking measures to prevent dumping or unfair practices in the importation and sale of foreign products;
Increasing market access of domestic industries through bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements; and
Matters referred to the Commission by the Government of Bangladesh.
In addition to the functions above, the Commission may assist the government in preparing the national budget and other matters referred to it. The Commission gives due consideration to public opinion while making any recommendations.
Keeping in view the developmental interests of the indigenous industries, the Commission submits from time to time proposals on tariffs and import policy matters consistent with current world trade realities. As a matter of general policy the Commission proposes lower nominal tariffs on primary raw materials and intermediate products and higher tariff rates for finished products. The Commission abides by the nation's WTO obligations as well as obligations under any other bilateral, regional or multilateral agreement to which it is a signatory in making any recommendations to the government.
BTC is the designated authority to investigate complaints of dumping and the importation of subsidized products. It has the statutory authority to recommend the imposition of antidumping duties in cases of importation of products at dumped prices and countervailing measures in cases of importation of subsidised products. It can also recommend safeguard measures against any sudden surge of imports. The Commission offers advice and assistance in the event Bangladeshi exports are threatened with or actually affected by the imposition of contingency measures in overseas markets.
Wing-wise Functions and Responsibilities of the BTC
For smooth and speedy disposal of its business, the Commission has been divided into three wings:
Trade Policy Wing,
Trade Remedies Wing, and
International Cooperation Wing. Each Wing is headed by a Member. Besides, there is also an Administrative section headed by the Secretary of the Commission.
Functions of International Co-operation Wing
One of the major tasks of Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) is to provide policy advice to the Government of Bangladesh on bilateral, regional and multilateral trade arrangements. For this purpose, International Cooperation Wing (ICW) provides the Ministry of Commerce with independent analyses, research, information, and recommendations on these arrangements. More specifically, ICW provides recommendations to the Government on the following:
SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA): SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement was signed in April 1993 and came into force in December 1995. The signatories to this Agreement are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. To date four rounds of trade negotiations have been concluded and a large number of tariff concessions exchanged among the member countries. At the request of the Ministry of Commerce the ICW, in consultation with the relevant government agencies and leading chambers of the country, recommended appropriate strategy and position for trade negotiations conducted under the agreement.
South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA): SAFTA was signed in January 2004 and it will come into force in January 2006. ICW was directly associated with the drafting of SAFTA Agreement and extensively advised the government on the various aspects of the agreement, specially the tariff reduction process . The Commission is now preparing recommendations on unresolved matters of SAFTA such as the rules of origin and the sensitive list.
Bangkok Agreement: This Agreement came into force in 1974. It is a regional bloc comprising Bangladesh, China, India, Laos DPR, South Korea and Sri Lanka. So far three rounds of negotiations have been concluded and a number of tariff concessions exchanged among the member countries. ICW advised the Government on the negotiating position for this preferential trading arrangement.
BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand) FTA: BIMST-EC is a relatively recent initiative . The Commission advises the Government on trade related matters of BIMST-EC. A Framework Agreement leading to a free trade area has been signed in February 2004. But Bangladesh is yet to sign the agreement.
Other Regional Cooperation Arrangements: ICW provides the government with negotiating inputs for other regional arrangements currently being negotiated by Bangladesh such as TPS-OIC (Trade Preference System of OIC).
Bilateral Trade arrangements: ICW is also responsible for providing information and recommendations on bilateral trade relation along with analytical papers for bilateral trade talks. Currently Bangladesh is negotiating possible bilateral free trade arrangements with India, Pakistan and Srilanka.
World Trade Organization: ICW is also responsible for providing policy advice to the Government of Bangladesh on matters related to the regular work of the WTO as well as Doha Work Programme. ICW is directly involved in preparation of negotiating position of the Government of Bangladesh on various elements of Doha Work Programme. It played a important role in the firming up of Bangladesh position at the Cancun Ministerial Conference.
Functions of Trade Policy Wing
Trade Policy Wing provides advice on the protection and expansion of domestic industries. To this end, it recommends appropriate tariff and import measures to the government as and when asked for. The main goals of trade policy of Bangladesh are to accelerate growth of exports, diversify export products, make imported inputs easily available at reasonable prices and keep the current account at a sustainable level.
To firm up its recommendations, the Commission usually holds meetings with related government agencies, business associations, experts and other concerned institutional representatives. In the case of controversial issues, the Commission sometimes holds public hearings before making recommendations to the government.
To determine measures for an efficient utilization of domestic industrial resources, Trade Policy Wing undertakes specific sectoral studies. Studies may be undertaken :
of its own volition;
in response to an application by any person or a company or an industry or a trade association in the prescribed form; and
in response to a reference received from the government.
The wing utilizes such concepts as effective rate of protection (ERP), domestic resource cost (DRC), Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and anti-export bias for analytical work. On the basis of the findings of such studies, the Commission recommends appropriate measures for the protection of indigenous industries. The recommendations are influenced by the widely held belief that a high rate of effective protection leads to inefficiency in industrial production, an inertia in technological development and welfare loss to consumers.
Functions of Trade Remedies Wing
The Trade Remedies Wing is mandated to receive and examine petitions from local industries alleging injury from the import of foreign products at dumped or subsidized prices and to recommend appropriate anti-dumping and countervailing duties as per domestic anti-dumping and countervailing law to protect legitimate interests of local industries. The wing also works on the WTO agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) measures. In the event a Bangladeshi exporter is threatened with or actually affected by the imposition of any punitive duty in a foreign market, the wing offers advice and assistance.
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