Ceylon Chamber lists 11 steps how Govt. can help biz adjust to free trade

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has released a document containing recommendations on helping Sri Lanka’s industries prepare for trade liberalization.

The policy brief titled ‘Building Resilience, Supporting Growth: Preparing the Domestic Private Sector for Trade Liberalisation’ provides insights on how to consider the types of firms, as well as types of impacts, in a wide-ranging liberalisation effort, and puts forward 11 specific suggestions on support measures.

 Speaking on the release of this document, CCC Chief Economist Anushka Wijesinha noted, “At a meeting last year, the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade met representatives of the private sector and indicated the Government’s plans to embark on an ambitious trade liberalisation effort. Chambers were invited to suggest measures that can be put in place to help domestic businesses adjust to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by this process. While specific proposals on support measures can only be developed once the specific scope of the liberalisation exercise was made clear (products, sectors, and so on) the CCC formulated a note containing the overarching framework the Government should consider, and submitted initial recommendations on what support measures can be deployed.”

 This document has now been published for wider dissemination, with the aim of stimulating discussion, as well as action, on the next steps. It is available for download on the CCC website at www.chamber.lk.