Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has stated the export duty exemptions provided under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between the Maldives and China are not beneficial to the Maldives.
The speaker made the remarks after Parliamentarian Abdulla Jabir posed a question to Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed regarding the benefits of the FTA to local fishermen. Speaker Nasheed said the duty sheet formulated under the FTA specifies 0% export duty for various types of fish which are not caught in the Maldives. He said any type of fish caught in the Maldives has a similar export duty as those imposed by the European Union (EU).
However, the statement by the Speaker was refuted by Parliamentarian Mohamed Saeed, who was the Minister of Economic Development when the agreement was signed in 2017. Saeed said the FTA allows 296 items to be exported at 0% duty, including various types of fish exported by the Maldives.
In response, Speaker Nasheed said the parliament holds a copy of the agreement as it was finalised and approved by the parliament. He said the agreement was approved by the parliament without checking it thoroughly.
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.
However, the current government claims the FTA is not beneficial to the Maldives and would hinder trade relations with other countries. The government has also stated the FTA cannot be operationalised before the relevant legislations are passed by the parliament.
Meanwhile, the parliament speaker has stated the agreement is no longer functional, 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.