U.S., Sri Lanka to Set Up TIFA Committees to Boost Trade
The U.S. and Sri Lanka agreed to establish a number of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Committees to continue work on bilateral trade and investment issues, said U.S. Trade Representative office officials following a meeting March 29 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The new TIFA Committees cover intellectual property, customs cooperation, and labor affairs. The countries also agreed to continue discussions on establishing a committee on the empowerment of women entrepreneurs.
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The officials discussed a wide range of trade and investment issues including market access, the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), labor, trade promotion efforts, intellectual property rights, agriculture, promoting women entrepreneurs, and sector-specific investment challenges, USTR said. Talks included Sri Lanka’s progress in addressing issues raised pursuant to the 2010 GSP review and an International Labor Organization technical assistance project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Sri Lanka is the 80th-largest goods U.S. trading partner, with $2.4 billion in two-way goods trade in 2011. U.S. exports to Sri Lanka were $307 million, up 71.7 percent from 2010. Its exports to the U.S. were worth about $2 billion, up20 percent over 2010.