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 ...
Pakistani industry supports Indias stand on WTO
Neha Dewan | @TheDollarBiz India’s stand that it will first ensure a commitment by members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over government food subsidy programs before allowing a consensus on the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has got support from unexpected quarters. Syed Yawar Ali, Pakistan Co-Chair for India Pakistan Joint Business Forum (IPJBF), said in a conference in New Delhi that he supports India’s efforts to protect farmers’ interest in the WTO. “There are atleast 60% people in agriculture sector [in India], and USA and EU have only 2%, but yet they protect them very vigorously. So I would support India’s WTO effort here,” Ali said. Ali is also hopeful that Islamabad will soon grant the Most Favoured Nation ...
