The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development
The Minister clarified that the lapse of the US GSP on 31 December 2020 affected all beneficiary countries and has not been renewed by the US Congress. He said Sri Lanka plans joint discussions with the United States in September, including on apparel sector issues, and welcomed constructive Opposition support. He added that the Government is reviewing existing trade agreements and exploring new arrangements, including with Vietnam and Iran, with the aim of using trade policy to reduce prices and ensure supply.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Mr. Chairman, a clarification on international trade and agreements raised by the Hon. Leader of the Opposition. The lapse of the US GSP on 31 December 2020 applied to all beneficiary countries; the US Congress has not renewed it since. We are scheduling joint discussions with the US in September and will raise sectoral issues, including apparel. We welcome constructive support from the Opposition. We are also reviewing existing agreements and working on potential new ones, including with Vietnam and with Iran (talks to begin in May). We aim to use trade policy to reduce prices and ensure supply.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 19 March 2025 ·No. 1748499233099643 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 March 2025. No. 1748499233099643. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/25199