Cabinet nod for Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA

Cabinet yesterday approved the final draft of the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be signed with Singapore, Cabinet Co-spokesperson Gayantha Karunathilaka said.

The Government gave the greenlight to sign the agreement subject to clearance from the Attorney General, he said.

The final draft of the Sri Lanka Singapore FTA (SLSFTA) which consists of provisions regarding trade in goods and services, service liberalization, investments, public procurement, was presented to the cabinet by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama for approval.

The agreement includes a separate chapter on Trade Remedies. 

As Sri Lanka at present lacks any corresponding regulations on the issue, it was said that the two bills on Trade remedies which have been placed on the Order Paper in Parliament should be passed before the agreement is signed to ensure that Sri Lanka does not face any disadvantages in connection to the SLSFTA.

Further, it has been noted that the draft agreement has several progressive chapters which would seeks local remedies for dispute resolution in an event investors institute arbitration procedures against state.