Pakistan moves closer to granting MFN status to India
Bidhu Bhushan Palo | @TheDollarBiz Pakistan’s plan to award the Most Favoured Status (MFN) to India, as a part of World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations, is likely to materialise by this year-end due to efforts from both sides led by crucial stakeholders including industry representatives. This, provided, talks resume between the two countries. Under the WTO non-discrimination principle known as Most Favoured Nation (MFN), members are not allowed to discriminate between their trading partners. India granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, but Pakistan has not done so due to several reasons including the Kashmir dispute, political turmoil and opposition from certain sectors such as rice, textiles and automobiles. Rice is a cash crop in Pakistan and does ...