KARACHI, July 12: Commerce Secretary Tasneem Noorani said on Tuesday that land route trade with India was linked to removal of non-tariff barriers because Pakistani exporters were unable to export to India even though India had granted Most-favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan.
Speaking to members of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA), he stressed the need for holding talks to sort out this issue for mutual interest of the two sides. “How could it be possible to allow things moving one way as Pakistan continues to import and could not export to India?” he asked.
The secretary was also candid about his views that India’s track record showed that it had been opposing Pakistan in every international forum. “India even opposed and checked any opportunity coming to its (Pakistan) way at the world level. Therefore, the historic trend adopted by India has to be changed to develop confidence and open up trade relations.”
Mr Noorani also talked about other issues confronting the textile industry in general and the value-added sector in particular. He also briefly informed the PHMA members about government’s strategy in developing global textile scenario. He said the EU had allowed a 20 per cent duty concession out of the total 12 per cent duty on textile goods under its GSP scheme.
Earlier, PHMA Chairman Aslam Ahmed Karsaz lauded the role of commerce secretary in resolving the problems of the textile industry. He said that by allowing a six per cent research and development support to textile garment manufacturers and exporters, the commerce ministry had helped save a large number of jobs provided by this sector.
However, the PHMA chief drew the attention of the secretary towards rapidly increasing export refinance rate from 3.5 per cent a year back to nine per cent. He said this hike had nullified the benefit given under the research and development support.
Mr Karsaz demanded that the export of cotton should be discouraged and subsidies given on local sales, which would help the local value-added textile industry get raw material at competitive rates.
He said that in order to save the export industry from the hassle of federal and provincial agencies such as SESSI and EOBI, it should be granted the status of export processing unit (EPU).
The PHMA chief said that with the connivance of freight forwarders, shipping lines are defrauding exporters, thereby causing huge losses to the export trade of the country. He said that some shipping lines and their agents had made a practice to change the title of goods in their names.
The PHMA chief said that due to mishap in categories 338 and 339, the commerce ministry had allowed freight subsidy to the exporters so that they could meet their export commitments. But Mr Karsaz said that a large number of exporters had not received payments due on this account because the EPB officials concerned were not taking the matter seriously.
The PHMA chief appreciated the government’s plan to grant 75 per cent of the amount for the installation of effluent treatment plants in the industrial areas with 25 per cent to be paid by the stakeholders. But he urged the government to simplify the procedure in order to speed up the process.
