Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail has stated the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between the Maldives and China in 2017 would affect the trade relations established with other countries.
Speaking at a programme aired on radio, Economic Minister Fayyaz said he had expressed his restrictions over the agreement as a member of the parliament, back when the agreement was signed. The minister said his biggest concern over the agreement was the declaration of 0% duty on Chinese imports, as this would destroy the trade links established with other countries. He said as the current economic minister of the Maldives, he cannot agree to implement such a policy.
The economic minister further noted the FTA also has some good clauses, which would be beneficial to the Maldives if implemented. He added he is open for discussions to revise and improve the agreement in a way which is beneficial to both countries.
The Maldives-China FTA was signed on December 7, 2017. It was part of the 12 agreements signed with China by the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen.
In a statement made in the Parliament of the Maldives on October 7, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer said the FTA will not be operational unless the relevant legislations are passed by the parliament. He said there is no significance of a signed FTA without the required legislations.
Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed expressed belief there is no such agreement currently in place as the previous administration did not fulfill the formalities to turn it into an operational agreement. Citing Clause 65 of the Article, Speaker Nasheed said the legislations relevant to the FTA were required to be passed within 30 days of signing the agreement for it to be functional. However, he said the previous administration had not done anything to operationalise the FTA.