KARACHI, June 12: The condition of the European Union to cut import duty on cars was not confined to only 1,800cc and above capacity cars, but was applicable to all kind of cars.

This was clarified by a representative of the EU, who was asked by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo to clarify the EU’s formal position on import of 1,800cc cars in the budget 2003-04 at lesser duty.

According to KCCI press release, the EU representative during a visit to KCCI on Wednesday clarified: “In fact the EU’s condition was not confined to 1,800cc and above capacity cars, but it was a general kind of proposal applicable to all kind of cars irrespective of their capacity.”

Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz in his post-budget press conference mentioned that the import duty on 1,800cc cars had been slashed to 150 from 200 per cent on the request of the EU.

The KCCI president urged the government to reduce the customs duty on all types of cars irrespective of their capacity.

The Technical Assistance Appraisal Mission (TAAM) of the EU for WTO has also taken serious note of the complaint that private sector has never been taken into confidence by the government regarding implementation of the WTO rules and regulations.

A two-member delegation of the EU’s TAAM headed by George Papazafiropoulos met the KCCI members in connection with the capacity building in the industry and trade concerns for the implementation of the WTO rules. The delegation pledged to convey the complaint to the WTO authorities and the Pakistan government may be asked to establish proper mechanism to make consultations with the private sector to share information and provide technical assistance to them for the implementation of the WTO rules.

Mr George said that consul-tation with the private sector could be made mandatory for the Pakistan government like it was for Mauritius and other small countries, says the press release.

He clarified that WTO deals only with the government and not with the private sector. However, it was the responsibility of the government to consult with the private sector and keep them apprised of the latest situation regarding WTO.

He, however, agreed to include technical training for the private sector in its programme for implementation of the WTO rules and regulations in Pakistan. The training would be given to the experts and the research personnel selected and suggested by the KCCI.

Mr George took serious notice of the fact that the Pakistan government had set up WTO wing only last year, while the WTO proceedings had started in 1995. He said he had visited the wing in Islamabad and found that the staff there was untrained.

The EU mission also visited the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday afternoon. FPCCI president Riaz Ahmed Tata asked the EU to extend technical, economic and knowledge assistance to create awareness and compliance of WTO regulations among the private sector in Pakistan.

He said that without having technical know-how about WTO and its regulations it would not be possible for Pakistan to face upcoming challenges of free trade regime. He feared that if some of the WTO regulations were implemented, it would not only hurt agriculture, but would also pose serious threat to various industrial sectors of the country. He was of the opinion that Pakistan might lag behind if timely preparation to comply with WTO regulations was not made.

Riaz Tata said the private sector was keen to seek expertise from the EU on WTO compliance. He was of the opinion that stakeholders of Pakistan should be invited in all the technical workshops/programmes, etc., organized by the EU, as the private sector would be actually affected by the WTO regulations. He regarded the participation of government officials in such programmes as meaningless. He was critical of the bureaucratic attitude of government officials, who did not even feel the responsibility to inform the private sector about such technical workshops. He asked EU to extend direct invitations to FPCCI to nominate the participants from the private sector.

He further added that Pakistani business community was facing problems of laboratory testing as this facility was not available in Pakistan.