ISLAMABAD: At the fourth Economic Cooperation Organisation Trade Agreement meeting Pakistan offered a list of tradable items for concessions in duties and taxes for four member countries.
Pakistan is the coordinating country for ECOTA, and it turned out to be the third country after Turkey and Afghanistan for submitting the list of tradable items.
Pakistan’s offer at the ECOTA Cooperation Council Meeting in Tehran broke the deadlock in the actualisation of the treaty signed on July 17, 2003. The meeting agreed to implement the agreement from Jan 1, 2014.
It also urged Tajikistan and Iran to submit their lists latest by Sept 1.
The disagreement on the concession list is the sole deterrence in the implementation of the agreement.
Commerce ministry spokesman Mohammad Ashraf told Dawn that all member countries were asked to submit their official position on concessions to the ECO Secretariat. The fifth meeting of ECOTA would be held in Islamabad in the first week of October to review progress in these areas.
Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Tajikistan ratified the agreements by the year 2008. Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are yet to ratify the basic agreement to formally join the club.
The submission of concession list is part of the agreement which allows every country to include 80pc of the current tradable items in the positive list in a period of eight years at a maximum duty of 15pc.
However, interpretation under Article 4 of the agreement for the positive list turned out be a real issue of conflict between Pakistan and Turkey. Turkey wants to place only those items on the positive list in the first phase which were already at lower rates or were exempted from duty and taxes.
It is also reluctant to offer real cut in duty of those items which are of interest to other member countries.
Pakistan is, however, asking for placement of those products on the positive list which attract more than 15pc duty at the import stage.
“We want meaningful treaty in terms of market access,” Mr Ashraf said who headed Pakistan’s delegation to the meeting at Tehran.
Pakistan’s trade with the ECO member countries stands at $2.3bn. Pakistan’s exports stood at $1.3bn while imports from these countries stood at $1bn.
Experts say Turkey has nominal things in the basket to offer for duty reduction because of Ankara customs union agreement with European Union on the manufacturing products.
Turkey is also reluctant to offer maximum on agriculture products because of protection to local producers.
Almost similar position is with Tehran, which is more protectionist and is not willing to open market for member countries.
According to Pakistan’s country statement issued after the meeting, the current level of intra-regional trade is far below its potential.
In order to achieve the objective of higher intraregional trade, ECOTA, which is one of the most important initiatives of ECO and could change the course of intra-regional trade and investment in the region, needs to be implemented without any further delay.
“Its early implementation will not only serve as an initiative that will allow countries to address issues that are essential at the regional level but will also pave way for establishing Free Trade Area,” it further stated.
“Pakistan as the Coordinating Country of ECOTA sincerely strives to play its role for substantive implementation of the agreement.
“We believe that within the agreed parameters of the agreement, the tariff barriers between the member countries should be lowered to increase the intra-regional trade.
“Any interpretation of the clauses of the agreement, which leads us to practically neutralise the spirit of opening up our mutual trade, may be avoided.
“Pakistan would also encourage and urge the ECO members to complete the legal and procedural formalities for the implementation of the agreement so that it comes into for at the earliest.