The government on Tuesday informed the Senate that Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) for the next three years, designed to boost country's exports, would be approved by next week, prior to Eidul Azha and talks with EU countries were going on regarding access to 75 Pakistani products to their markets.
Minister of State for Commerce Abbas Khan Afridi stated this during the question hour session in the Senate on Tuesday in response to a question of members regarding the country's trade balance. The Senator expressed concerns over the hike in import bill and decrease in export volume, besides questioning steps taken by the government during the past four years to decrease the dependence on import of edible oil by moving toward domestic production.
The Minister of State for Commerce said that trade policy was likely to get Cabinet approval before the upcoming Eid. The State Minister said that the government planted more than five million edible oil plants in the Potohar region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the approval for planting five million plants more would be given in the trade policy. Afradi said that the government was engaged in talks with EU countries for lifting ban on 75 Pakistani products in their markets. He said that 64 of products being offered for concession were from textile and clothing category.
The issue of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) was being taken up with the US authorities. The Minister stated that the government was also negotiating with the US authorities regarding granting concessions on textiles export. The Minister stated in a written reply that the US was a major trading partner of Pakistan. In 2010-11, Pakistan's exports to the US were worth $3.957 billion and imports were worth $1.81 billion. The trade balance was in favour of Pakistan with textile and clothing as major component of country's exports which constitutes about 87% of the total exports. However, textile and clothing products are facing high tariffs in the US market compared to other countries of the region, he added.
In order to get preferential market access for textile and clothing sector, several efforts have been made during the last five years which include; (i) the issue of market access remained on agenda of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council meetings held during the last five years and US side agreed to prepare a set of proposals for grant of unilateral enhanced market access to Pakistan, which will be shared with the Ministry of Commerce soon; (ii) under the US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme, duty free access is available to developing countries for limited number of textile and other products. Pakistan is also a beneficiary of the scheme and exported $131 million worth of products to USA under the scheme in 2011.
The Minister stated that Pakistan is persuading US authorities to include those textile items in the GSP scheme in which Pakistan has greater potential of increasing its exports and US side during the 6th TIFA Council meeting agreed that US Department of Commerce would explore possibilities for arranging GSP Seminars, in collaboration with leading chambers of commerce in Pakistan, in an effort to encourage greater utilisation of the duty free access, available to Pakistan under the scheme.
The Minister of Commerce also stated that the government has taken various steps to get preferential access to EU markets for textile and clothing export and European Union had announced trade concessions on 75 products for Pakistan subject to WTO waiver in the aftermath of devastating floods of 2010.