SRI LANKA: 2006 U.S. EXPORTS UP, BUT BARELY DENT USD 1.9B

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000375 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/INS AND EB/TPP STATE AND GENEVA PLEASE PASS TO USTR MCC FOR S GROFF, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE E.O 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD EFIN EAID CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: 2006 U.S. EXPORTS UP, BUT BARELY DENT USD 1.9B BILATERAL TRADE DEFICIT REF: COLOMBO 370 ¶1. (U) Summary: The United States-Sri Lanka goods trade balance narrowed to nine-to-one in Sri Lanka's favor in 2006, from over ten-to-one in recent years. The improvement came from 20 percent growth in U.S. exports to Sri Lanka, while U.S. imports from Sri Lanka rose by only 3 percent. Nevertheless, the U.S.-Sri Lanka trade deficit for 2006 remained around $1.9 billion, unchanged from ¶2005. Sri Lanka is likely to continue to run a heavy trade surplus with the United States as it maintains high tariffs and para-tariffs on imports (reftel),while steadily producing U.S.-bound garments. For Sri Lanka overall, export growth of 8.4 percent was overshadowed by a 16 percent jump in imports and a decline in its balance of payments surplus. End Summary. U.S. EXPORTS UP, BUT TRADE DEFICIT STEADY AT $1.9B -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) According to U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, the United States ran a $1.9 billion trade deficit with Sri Lanka in 2006, unchanged from 2005. U.S. exports to Sri Lanka increased by 20 percent in 2006 to $237 million. Major U.S. exports in 2006 were machinery ($94 million),electrical machinery and parts ($32 million),yarn and fabric ($22 million),medical equipment ($10 million),paper ($7 million),and computers and related equipment ($6 million). ¶3. (U) Sri Lanka's exports to the United States, its largest market, increased by 3 percent to $2.1 billion, or nearly a third of total exports. Apparel continued to dominate U.S.-bound exports, but grew by only 2 percent to $1.7 billion. Other key exports from Sri Lanka to the United States were, in order, rubber, gems, tea, and spices. SRI LANKA'S EXPORTS TO THE EU SURGED -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Exports to the European Union (EU),Sri Lanka's second largest apparel market, grew by 26 percent to $1.3 billion in the first eleven months of 2006. Exports to the EU were boosted by duty free access under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) scheme. Under GSP+, the EU grants duty free access to Sri Lankan exports, including garments, in recognition of Sri Lanka's meeting international standards in human and labor rights, environmental protection, counter-drugs policy, and good governance. (Note: According to the EU mission in Colombo, the EU has begun to evaluate whether human rights violations and other governance problems could cause Sri Lanka to lose eligibility for GSP+ when the EU reviews the program in 2008.) SRI LANKA'S EXPORT GROWTH SLOWS OVERALL, EXCEPT FOR GARMENTS AND EMERGING SECTORS -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Sri Lanka's total exports were $6.9 billion in 2006. Export growth slowed to 8.4 percent in 2006 from 10.2 percent in 2005. Growth in apparel, Sri Lanka's key export, accelerated to 6.4 percent in 2006 from 3.1 percent in 2005. Apparel, at $3.1 billion, accounted for 45 percent of all Sri Lanka's exports. Despite having had a good year, garment exporters are worried, fearing that the 2008 expiration of U.S. safeguards against Chinese apparel will cut their sales dramatically. ¶6. (U) Aside from garments, there were positive signs of diversification of Sri Lanka's industrial export base. Food and rubber product exports grew by 10 percent to $2.1 billion, accounting for 30 percent of exports. Agricultural exports, led by tea (which had record high exports),increased by 12 percent to $1.3 billion, or 19 percent of Sri Lanka's exports. IMPORT GROWTH EXCEEDS EXPORT GROWTH -------------- ¶7. (U) Sri Lanka's island economy is importing more and more, both COLOMBO 00000375 002 OF 002 for consumption and investment. Imports grew by 16 percent to $10.2 billion. The petroleum import bill rose by 25 percent to $2.1 billion, both on higher price and higher volume. Petroleum products accounted for 20.2 percent of total imports. Consumer goods imports, mostly food staples like sugar and milk products, grew by 23 percent. Imports of investment goods such as building material, machinery, and transport equipment, rose by 24 percent to $2.2 billion in 2006. Imports of intermediate goods (excluding oil), such as textiles and other industrial inputs, increased by 8 percent, to a total of $4.1 billion. ¶8. (U) The Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ILFTA) was a significant factor in the jump in imports. The 2000 agreement has produced a four fold increase in total bilateral trade between the two countries, with Sri Lanka's exports rising eight-fold. However, in 2006, Sri Lanka's exports to India actually dropped by 14 percent to $483 million as India imposed quotas on palm oil and pepper following complaints by Indian producers. These joined existing Indian quotas, tariffs and restrictions on ports of entry on garments and tea, demonstrating how far from "free trade" the two neighbors remain despite the ILFTA. Although Sri Lanka likewise maintains a 1,100 item negative list, protecting major production sectors including numerous agricultural products, its imports from India grew on the order of 25 percent in 2006. TRADE DEFICIT INCREASES 34 PERCENT, BUT BOP REMAINS IN SURPLUS; SRI LANKAN RUPEE DEPRECIATES -------------- -------------- ¶9. (U) With these patterns, Sri Lanka's trade deficit rose 34 percent to $3.4 billion in 2006. The deficit was partly offset by higher worker remittances, which increased by 21 percent to $2.3 billion. Government borrowing in international markets also increased, to $1.1 billion from 120 million in 2005. The balance of payments recorded a surplus of around $190 million in 2006 compared with a surplus of $500 million in 2005. Total external reserves fell by 6 percent to $3.6 billion, sufficient to finance 4.2 months of imports. Despite Central Bank efforts to prop up the Sri Lankan Rupee, the currency depreciated by 5.2 percent against the U.S. Dollar and about 17 percent against the Euro. COMMENT: BILATERAL TRADE LIKELY TO REMAIN STAGNANT -------------- -------------- ¶10. (U) The 20 percent increase in U.S. goods exports to Sri Lanka in 2006 was good news, but was not due to any liberalization by Sri Lanka, which has increased tariffs and para-tariffs (which UNCTAD defines as "measures that increase the cost of imports in a manner similar to tariff measures") in the last few years. Instead the jump in U.S. exports was probably driven by Sri Lanka's unusually high 7 percent GDP growth rate in 2006 and by the stimulative effect of negative real interest rates for the past three years. With the Central Bank raising interest rates to control inflation, growth in 2007 may slow down. ¶11. (U) For Sri Lanka overall, the mixed performance in 2006, with exports growing but imports rising even more, was mitigated by the huge growth in remittances. A slowdown in the global economy could thus hit Sri Lanka's balance of payments doubly hard, as both exports and remittances would likely fall. With external debt growing as the government finances domestic budget shortfalls, this could be problematic.