Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, has stated that there is no connection between the decrease in import duty and the Free Trade Agreement signed between China and the Maldives. The Economic Development Minister said this while speaking at a forum about the Free Trade Agreement. The Free Trade Agreement between the Maldives and China came into effect in January this year. Under this agreement, China waives duty on fish products exported from the Maldives, while duty is also waived on certain goods imported to the Maldives from China.
More than a month has passed since the implementation of this agreement, and some parties have been expressing concerns about the decrease in revenue from import duties. As discussions linking the decrease in import duty revenue to the Free Trade Agreement continue, Minister Saeed has shared details on this matter.
Minister Saeed said that so far this year, goods worth 1 billion rufiyaa have been imported to the Maldives from China. “From January this year until now, goods worth 1 billion rufiyaa have been imported from China. The CIF value of this is 34 million rufiyaa. Out of this, 2.3 million rufiyaa has received FTA concessions. That’s 1 percent of total imports. So [the decrease in duty] has no connection to the FTA,” Minister Saeed said.
Speaking about the benefits of this agreement, the Minister said that the approach of the Maldives and larger countries in formulating and implementing such agreements would differ. He also said that as the Maldives is a country dependent on imports, the biggest benefit from such agreements would be to the citizens. “The Maldives is an import-dependent country. When goods needed by the Maldives are brought in favorably, it will benefit Maldivian businesses. It will benefit the general public who use these goods. We don’t need to bring in high tariff rates or large bands for that,” said Economic Minister Saeed.
Minister Saeed said that easing businesses and controlling prices of goods is one of the most fundamental considerations of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Along with this, the Economic Minister has noted that this work is currently being carried out through the Maldives Industrial Free Zone Company.
