RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/TPR/W/2
10February 1995
ORGANIZATION
(95-0273)
TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY Original: English
TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM
Trade Policy Review ofPakistan
Communication from theDiscussants
Inpursuance ofAnnex 3,paragraph C(iv) oftheWTO Agreement, thefollowing areoutlines
ofthemain points toberaised byMrs. Linda Fernández-Corugedo Steneberg (Sweden) and
Mr.Mehmet S.Onaner (Turkey) atthereview ofPakistan tobeheldon15-16 February 1995.
Itisrecalled thatdiscussants actintheirpersonal capacity.
(a) Mrs. Linda Fernández-Corugedo Steneberg
1. Pakistanmustbegivenduecreditforitsrecentgreaterrelianceonmarketforces,thederegulation
ofitsimport andexport régimes andfortrying toopenuptheeconomy totheoutside world. Given
themore positive economic trends intheforthcoming period, compared tothelastfewyears,
liberalization mustcontinue inorder toeliminate theprevailing inefficiencies intheeconomy, toallow
marketsignalstopenetratetoeconomicdecisionmakersandtoallowtheseandtheauthoritiestodiversify
theproduction. IntheEighth Plan(1993-98) onestated objective istolimitimports to5percentof
GDP. Thisfigure raises thequestion whether Pakistan willnot,afterall,lower itstariffs asforeseen
inthetariff reform programme, duetobeimplemented in1994-97.
2. Itwould seem thatwomen areanunderutilized resource inPakistan. Assuchitisofinterest
tomethatintheSocial Action Program more emphasis wasputonwomen andchildren. Would the
delegation please elaborate onthisandonanyfuture plans.
3. Theinfrastructure isstillweak inPakistan, education standards leave some things tobedesired
andinvestment inresearch isinadequate. Theprivate sector shows littleinterest inthedevelopment
ofresearch facilities. Pakistan isendowed withawiderange offuelandnon-fuel minerals, butthese
areinsufficiently exploited, partly because ofalackofdetailed geological surveys. Perhaps theprivate
sector hasnotyetbeenenough exposed tothemarket forces andistherefore notmature enough to
undertake theseresponsibilities. Against thisbackground itseems thattheauthorities willhavetotake
thelead. What aretheplans?
4. Pakistan isamember ofSAARC (South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation). This,
however, remains aframework agreement andmembers havenotentered intonegotiations foranactual
exchange ofconcessions. Whyisthis? Economic theory andreallifecoincide inshowing thattrade
between countries ofsimilar economic structure benefits boththecountries involved andworld trade
./.WT/TPR/W/2
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ingeneral. Pakistan showed alaudable constructiveness intheUruguay Round, isitprepared tovitalize
regional trade inSAARC?
5. Astextiles stand foraround 60percentofPakistan 'stotalexport earnings, theimportance
ofthissector isobviously paramount. Themainimporting countries haveovertheyears donePakistan
andother textile exporting countries aninjustice, bothineconomic terms andfrom adevelopment
perspective, inmaintaining restrictions ontradeintextiles. Forallbelievers inthemerits offreetrade,
itisagreatdisappointment thatthederogation fromnormal GATT ruleswaslegalized intheUruguay
Round foraslongaperiod astenyears. Pakistan doesontheother handmaintain import restrictions
ofitsownonsome textile products. Isthisreally necessary? Thisweakens theargument against the
restrictive bigimporters andithinders thepenetration ofmarket signals tothePakistani textile industry.
Inthiscontext, itwould beinteresting tolearn more about thediversification plans oftheauthorities
asregards industry, sincetheconcentration onthetextile sector isclearly an"Achilles heel"ofPakistan 's
economy.
(b) Mr.Mehmet S.Onaner
6. Structure oftrade policy formulation andimplementation.
7. Measures directly affecting imports, interalia,salestax,negative list,procedural requirements.
8. Measures directly affecting exports, interalia,export taxes, charges, levies, negative list.
9. Agricultural policy andimpact oftheresults oftheUruguay Round.
10. Development ofindustry andexport diversification.