Verite Research discussion on FTAs tomorrow

A Verite Research organised discussion on FTAs titled ‘A Ship Without Sails: Trade Access Without Competitiveness’ will be held on 25 August from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Verité Research, Conference Room at No.5 A, Police Park Place, Colombo 5.

The presentation will be made by Subhashini Abeysinghe Senior Analyst and Head of Economic Research at Verité.

Verite said the limited diversification of markets and products has been highlighted as the core of Sri Lanka’s export problem. In addressing this problem, the diversification of markets has received more attention in the recent past, and FTAs have emerged as the chosen solution to the problem. 

This seminar will explore how far the proposed strategy will serve to address the export problem and its limitations.  It will do so by questioning whether the lack of diversification is the root cause of the problem or its symptom, and whether the root cause is in fact a lack of export capacity and low export competitiveness. 

Subhashini Abeysinghe is a specialist on trade issues. With almost two decades of experience at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Intelligence Unit, she has an in-depth understanding of Sri Lanka’s economy, especially its international trade. Subhashini is also an expert on multilateral and regional trade agreements. She has a B.A. and M.A. from Colombo and an M.A from the World Trade Institute.