1 SAFTA RESEARCH FINDINGS

2 SAFTA Deshal de Mel(2007). South Asia: Towards a Viable Free Trade Area. Kathmandu: SAWTEE Progress made by BTAs, together with the emergence of the trans-regional Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Free Trade Area(MIBSTEC FTA) Framework Agreement Needs to yield trade opportunities in new areas rather than just reducing barriers to existing traded items.

3 SAFTA Slow pace of its trade liberalization program(TLP). Huge size of sensitive lists, the prevalence of non-tariff barriers. Exclusion of services and investment, high transaction cost. Ever present uncertainly resulting from Indo-Pak trade relations, particularly the non application of most-favored nations(MFN) status for Indian products by Pakistan

4 SAFTA Kishor Das. Thunderbird School of Global Management. Towards Free Trade in south Asia: Political and Economic Dimensions The level of regional economic interdependence for free trade agreement will leave south Asian countries at an appreciable distance from the goal of SAFTA, even after a decade.

5 SAFTA Dilip K Das(Feb. 2007). SAFTA: Prospects of Shallow Regional Integration. Center for the study of Globalization and Regionalization(CSGR), University of Warwick. Income and welfare gains from a FTA in South Asia did not find a robust evidence of large gains for the South Asian Economies.

6 SAFTA Asian Development Bank and Aus AID(2009). Study of Intraregional Trade and Investment in South Asia. Nepal: Most open and trade-dependent economy of the region 62.2% of its trade in FY 2007 was with India, declining with other countries

7 SAFTA Full integration and cooperation did not take off. High levels of protection persist. Still suffers from prohibitive tariff and the distinction of having the highest interstate barriers to trade. Negative lists remain substantial Interstate mobility is hampered by visa rules. Exclusion of services and investment from SAFTA renders the agreement toothless is in significant areas. Intraregional investment within the region, as well as trade remains meager.

8 SAFTA Jeevika Weerahawa(June 2009). Impact of Trade Facilitation Measures and Regional Trade Agreement on Food and Agricultural Trade in South Asia. The Asia Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade. Working Paper Series 69. Key trading partners of the South Asia are non- South Asian developed countries and the food and agriculture trade among South Asian countries is rather small. Intra-regional trade in South Asia are considered to be not successful in improving trade in South Asia. Trade facilitation in South Asia is quite low.

9 SAFTA Aradhana Aggarwal(July 2008). Regional Economic Integration and FDI in South Asia: Prospects and Problems. Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Working paper 218. Unresolved structural weaknesses Political movements Narrow nationalism and mutual mistrust are several factors that explain the failure of the region to tap its potential