President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Ghulam Mustafa Choudary in a press statement on Thursday expressed serious concerns over the announcement of increase in import duty from nine percent to 52 percent on garments and 6.4 percent to 35 percent on grey fabrics of Pakistan by the brotherly country of Turkey.
He termed this extraordinary hike in import duty is the most unfriendly and damaging act for the Pakistan's textile sector. On one hand, Turkish government is negotiating expansion of mutual trade with Punjab government and exploring areas of investment while on the other, heavy import duties are being imposed on exports of garments and fabric from Pakistan. He stressed that this unprecedented hike not only negates international trade norms, but also violated world trade order regulations.
SCCI President said that Turkey is an important destination for Pakistani textiles and is also a vital link with European countries on international trade route, due to which Pakistan is exporting annually textile products of US $341.6 million to Turkey. Imposition of heavy import duty would result in decreased exports to Turkey, which would ultimately be a huge setback for the textile industry and economy of Pakistan, he concluded.