Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum's (PBIF) president Mian Zahid Hussain has stressed the need for making National Tariff Commission (NTC) more effective by removing legislative hurdles. He also demanded of the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to execute Preferential Trade Agreement (PTAs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) without consulting the business community.
He was of the view that officials must consider the implications of potential deals on domestic industries and jobs before initiating any preferential trade deal/free trade deal. Mian Zahid Hussain stated that Pakistan is currently having FTAs with China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka; PTAs with Iran, Mauritius and Indonesia and one Transit Trade Agreement with Afghanistan.
He said that in the financial year 2014-15, Pakistan had a positive balance of trade with Sri Lanka, Iran and Mauritius worth US $173.406 million, US $29.952m and US $13.115m, respectively, and a negative balance of trade with China, Indonesia and Malaysia worth US $4.881 billion, US $1.167 billion and US $679.849, respectively. He said that objectives of having FTAs with other countries should be aimed at having access to international market for Pakistani products and enhancing trade competitiveness at international level. "Recent FTAs/PTAs of Pakistan are increasing import of consumer goods on subsidized tariff, thereby exposing our domestic industry to unfair competition," he opined.
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