ATT promoting unfair trade, illegal money transfer

The Afghan Transit Trade (ATT), which was started to facilitate the troubled nation, has given rise to unfair trade and illegal transfer of foreign exchange in Pakistan. Sources told Business Recorder on Saturday that ATT is the main cause of unfair trade and smuggling of goods, especially those items which are manufactured in Pakistan, which badly affects the small and cottage industry.
Although Afghanistan is getting all trade benefits through ATT, it is creating adverse impact on Pakistan''s economy, they said, and added that Pakistan, who is has been hit by severe financial crisis and uncertain political situation, could not afford further losses through unfair trade and illegal transfer of foreign exchange. Moreover, they said that the payments of goods imported for Afghanistan under ATT and reaching local markets are being done through illegal transfer of foreign exchange by powerful mafia.
They stressed the need of revising some basis clauses in ATT agreement, saying that basic principal rules and customs components ie introduction of common external tariff and customs law, industrial, agricultural, competition, investment, import/export, banking and foreign exchange, anti-dumping temporary import/export, export processing duty and free zones, drawback for manufacturing of goods for export, product standards, technical regulation and under bond manufacturing policies and strategies should be revisited by authoritiesconcerned to improve trade activity in Pakistan.
They said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have to initiate joint efforts to take swift remedial measures for making ATT beneficial for both countries, and added that Pakistan Afghanistan Customs Union (PACU) should be established to curb illegal practices, being done in the garb of ATT.
They said that both countries should allow the cross border movement of goods to create adequate trade benefits to both countries and added that PACU area should fairly be determined for sharing revenue arising from custom, excise and additional duties levied by Pakistan on the import of goods under ATT.