The Maldives Trade Union has expressed concern over the government’s commitment to signing a free trade agreement with China.
A statement from the union said that the agreement could prove to be detrimental to local businesses, namely small and medium-sized enterprises, as large businesses from China could dominate domestic markets.
The statement likened the free trade agreement to one signed between the ‘vora’ traders, a group of merchants native to India, in 1970.
The union said that the traders had essentially pushed out local merchants and monopolized local markets until the government — with much effort — were able to terminate the agreement.
MTU argues that free-trade agreements are conventionally made between countries entertaining similar economic growth or stability, highlighting on the contrasting difference in the economies of China and Maldives.
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