May 2, 2003	Friday	Safar 29, 1424

ISLAMABAD, May 1: Pakistan has withheld a notification to allow the import of 78 more items from India on concessionary tariff which it had committed under the Kathmandu round of South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA).

Well placed sources told Dawn that the ministries of commerce and foreign affairs have decided to wait for the outcome of the ongoing efforts to start political dialogue between the two nations on all issues including Kashmir before the formal notification of allowing import of 78 more items from India.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on March 18 approved the inclusion of these items in the consolidated list of importable items from India on concession tariff but asked the commerce ministry to coordinate the timing of notification with foreign affairs ministry.

When contacted, commerce minister Humayun Akhtar Khan said on Wednesday that trade talks with India could take place following India started political negotiations with Pakistan.

“We are ready to discuss trade issues but only after there is some tangible improvement on the political front. This is not possible that we start trade discussions while they refuse to negotiate political issues”, the minister said.

He said that the previous government had agreed, during the Kathmandu round of Sapta negotiations, to enlarge the existing positive list of tradable items and the ECC had approved the list which was not being reflected in the consolidated list.

“We will notify the list in consultation with the foreign office when we think the time is appropriate. The approval is there but the implementation would be made at an appropriate time”. He did not share the perception that the foreign office was delaying the clearance and added that timing would be decided by him (Humayun).

Pakistan, during the first three rounds of deliberations in the Inter Governmental Group (IGG), offered tariff concessions under Sapta to India on 682 items, which have been notified by the Revenue Division through SRO 370 (I) on June 15 last year. All these items were also included in the Consolidated National Schedule of Concessions notified by the Saarc’s Secretariat.

However, 78 items could not be included in the list because of reservations from various quarters over the negative impact on local industry. The government was, however, facing criticism at every forum of the SAARC committees for not honouring its commitment.

The Commerce Ministry had told the ECC that Pakistan was bound to allow import of these items from India because it had already been notified by the Saarc secretariat. The foreign ministry had not opposed the proposal when it came up before the ECC although the ministry of industry and production had some reservations.

The industries ministry was of the view that allowing concession of Customs duties to India would hurt the local industry, especially milk powder, unsweetened milk and ferrous products as tariff was low on the import of these items.

The commerce ministry, however, insisted that since the net decrease in tariff in case of powder and unsweetened milk was only 5 per cent (from 25 per cent to 20 per cent) and in case of ferrous products only 1 per cent (from 10 per cent to 9 per cent) respectively, it was quite an insignificant margin to cause any harm to the domestic industry.

The Sixth Saarc Summit held in Colombo in December 1991 approved the establishment of an Inter Governmental Group (IGG) to formulate an agreement for Saarc Preferential Trading Arrangement (Sapta).

The list of items, which have been allowed by the ECC for import from India but await notification along with tariff code and duty rate are as under:

1. 0402.1000 Milk in powder granules or other solid forms, of a fat content by weight, not exceeding 1.5pc 20pc; 2. 0402.2100 Milk not containing added sugar 20pc; 3. 0703.1000 Shallots. 20pc; 4. 0801.3200 Shelled cashew nuts. 10pc; 5. 0810.9000 Other (tamarind fresh). 10pc; 6. 0909.3000 Cumin black. 10pc; 7. 1005.1000 Maize (corn) seed. 10pc; 8. 1005.9000 Maize (corn) others. 10pc; 9. 1106.3000.

Flour, meal and powder of the dried leguminous vegetables of others of chapter 8. 10pc; 10. 1203.0000 Copra. 10pc; 11. 1302.3200 Guar meat. 10pc; 12. 1508.9000 Groundnut oil, of edible grade. 10pc; 13. 2305.0000 Oil cakes. 10pc; 14. 2306.9000 Oil cakes and cake of other oil seeds. 10pc; 15. 2504.9000 Other natural graphite. 20pc; 16. 2520.1000 Gypsum; anhydrite. 10pc; 17. 2525.1000 Crude mica and mica rifted into sheets or splinting. 10pc; 18. 2525.2000 Mica powder. 10pc; 19. 2525.3000 Mica waste. 10pc; 20. 2821.1000 Iron oxides and hydroxides. 10pc; 21. 2821.2000 Earth colours. 10pc; 22. 2903.1400 Carbon tetrachloride. 10pc; 23. 3102.1000 Urea. 10pc; 24. 3103.1000 Super phosphates. 10pc; 25. 3303.0000 Keora water. 10pc; 26. 3403.1100 Preparations for the treatment of textile material, leather, furskin or other materials. 10pc; 27. 3506.9100 Adhesives based on rubber or plastics, other than of shoes adhesives. 10pc; 28. 3506.9900 Other adhesives, other than of shoe adhesives. 10pc; 29. 3809.9100 Finishing Agents of a kind used in Textile Industry. 10pc; 30. 3903.1100 Polymers of Styrene. 10pc; 31. 3910.0000 Silicone resins. 10pc; 32. 3920.7100 Other plates sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics of regenerated cellulose. 10pc; 33. 4001.2100 Natural rubber in other forms — smoked sheets. 10pc; 34. 4001.2200 Technically specified natural rubber. 10pc; 35. 4001.2900 Natural rubber in other forms. 10pc; 36. 4010.1100 Reinforced only with metal. 10pc; 37. 4010.1200 Reinforced only with textile material. 10pc; 38. 4010.1300 Reinforced only with plastic. 10pc; 39. 4010.1900 Other. 10pc; 40. 4017.0000 Plates, sheets, rods and tubes etc 10pc; 41. 4206.1000 Catguts. 10pc; 42. 4418.2000 Doors and their frames and thresholdspc; 43. 4904.0000 Music, printed or in manuscript whether or not bound and illustrated. 10pc; 44. 6802.2100 Marble blocks/tiles, polished. 10pc; 45. 6802.2300 Granite blocks/tiles, polished. 10pc; 46. 6804.1000 Millstones and grindstones for milling, grinding or pulping 10pc; 47. 6805.1000 Natural or artificial abrasive powder or grain. On base of woven textile fabrics only. 10pc; 48. 6805.2000 Natural or artificial abrasive powder r grain. On base paper or paper board only. 10pc; 49. 6814.1000 Plates, sheets and strips of agglomerated or reconstituted mica 10pc; 50. 6815.1000 Non-electrical item of graphite or other carbon. 10pc; 51. 6815.9900 Alumina balls. 10pc; 52. 6909.1100 Ceramic wares for laboratory chemical or other technical use of porcelain or china. 10pc; 53. 7005.1000 Non-wired glass, having any absorbent relecting or non-reflecting of float glass. 10pc; 54. 7007.1100 Toughened tempered safety glass. 10pc; 55. 7103.1000 Unworked or simply sawn or roughly. 20pc; 56. 7103.9100 Rubles, sapphires and emeralds. 20pc; 57. 7103.9900 Other. 20pc; 58. 7203.1000 Ferrous products. 10pc; 59. 7506.1000 Of nickel, not alloyed. 10pc; 60. 7506.2000 Of nickel alloys. 10pc; 61. 7904.0000 Zinc bars rods profiles and wires. 10pc; 62. 7905.0000 Zinc plates, sheets, strip and foil. 10pc; 63. 8405.1000 Producer gas and water gas generators.10pc; 64. 8446.1000 Needle looms and spares thereof. 20pc; 65. 8447.1200 Circular knitting machine & spares thereof. 20pc; 66. 8448.1100 Dobby, jacquard and punching machines and spares thereof 20pc; 67. 8545.1900 Graphite electrodes. 10pc; 68. 9101.1200 Wrist watches, electrically operated, with opti-electronic display 20pc; 69. 9101.1900 Other: Other wrist watches, electrically operated whether or not incorporating a stopwatch facility. 20pc; 70. 9101.2900 Other wrist watches. 20pc; 71. 9101.9100 Other wrist watches electrically operated. 20pc; 72. 9101.9900 Other wrist watches. 20pc; 73. 9103.1000 Clocks with watch movement electrically operated. 20pc; 74. 9103.9000 Other clocks with watch movement. 20pc; 75. 9105.2900 Other wall clocks. 20pc; 76. 9105.9100 other clocks electrically operated. 20pc; 77. 9105.9900 Other clocks. 20pc; 78. 9506.6100 Tennis balls. 10 per cent.