8 December 2016 12:05 am
By Yohan Perera
The government will present an anti-dumping bill to parliament in January, next year, Development Policies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama told parliament yesterday.
Samarawickrama, who was speaking during the committee stage debate on the budget in the House, said this would be aimed at protecting local industries.
The minister also said a local industries policy will be ready for discussion next year.
Sri Lanka is gearing to enter into free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, China, Korea and Bangladesh, while planning to sign an extension to the present FTA with India, covering services sectors.
However, this extension to the Indo-Lanka FTA, the proposed Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), has run into much opposition from professional groups, industrialists as well as a section of academics and economists.
“The government will present the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement to parliament before signing it,” Samarawickrama told parliament.