Search Result for : Most Favoured Nation Mfn

The Dollar Business Bureau Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India, Abdul Basit, on Wednesday, stated that India and Pakistan need to work on improving non-trade barriers, in order to ease their bilateral trade. Speaking to media at an event organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce, the official also stated that India and Pakistan should narrow down the list of sensitive items that are facing trade challenges between the two countries. In this regard, Abdul Basit informed that there are totally 1,209 tariff lines, under which the products are defined at higher levels for the purpose of setting import duties, which India cannot export to Pakistan, under Pakistan’s sensitive list. On the other hand, under the sensitive items list on India’s side, Pakistan cannot ...

Sai Nikesh D | The Dollar Business Pakistan farmer organisations have held a rally in Lahore this week, opposing the import policy of agri and food products from India which has led to a surge in agri and food imports from India in recent years. According to sources in Pakistan, all major farmers’ associations — Kissan Board Pakistan, Farmers Associates Pakistan, Kissan Ittehad, Awane Zaraat, Sindh Tas Water Council, and Punjab Water Council – have come together to demand the withdrawal of the March 2012 statutory notification which allowed duty-free import of 137 items through Wagah border. Pakistani farmers say that the Wagah border is close to India’s Punjab, which is considered the food bowl of India, and ...

 Bidhu Bhushan Palo | The Dollar Business “We are living off the liberalisation and reforms of the past.” - Roberto Azevêdo, DG, WTO, had said in 2014. (Pic. source - WTO)   Despite the slowdown in global trade and growing importance of regional agreements (and disagreements) seen in 2014, optimism seems to be back at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). As it turned 20 on January 1, 2015, Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, WTO, said, “20 years ago, on 1 January 1995, the WTO opened its doors for business. Our organisation has evolved since 1995. We have welcomed 33 new members, ranging from some of world’s largest economies to some of the least developed. Today our 160 members account for approximately 98% ...

Neha Dewan | The Dollar Business Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Minister of State (Independent Charge) Commerce and Industry, at the launch of the Indian Trade Portal   Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Minister of State (Independent Charge) Commerce and Industry, today inaugurated the new “Indian Trade Portal” (www.indiantradeportal.in) which will be a one-point source for details related to foreign trade such as MFN and preferential tariffs, rules of origin, and technical barriers to trade (TBT) faced by Indian exporters and importers. The government claims that the new portal will make important data available for the use of exporters and importers on the site in a user friendly way, which in turn will contribute to the ease of doing business for the industry. It ...

The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz "Let us work to change cynicism into optimism," said PM Modi at the 18th SAARC Summit (Pic. source - Government of India)   Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his way back after a vegetarian meal and a photo shoot during the Retreat at Dhulikhel after the 18th SAARC summit concluded today. It is reported that he shook hands with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. While many are left wondering about the outcome of this SAARC summit, there is perhaps more than what meets the eye. There are several takeaways for India, and not allowing the Chinese to take centre stage at the event is one of those. The other one could be a ...

The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz The Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO) says that bilateral trade between India and Pakistan has the potential to grow almost four times to over $10 billion if Pakistan grants the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India. Under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations, India had granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, but Pakistan has not reciprocated so far. In 2012, the Pakistan government agreed to award the MFN status to India and it was anticipated that the Nawaz Sharif government will do so by the end of 2014. However, the recent turmoil in Kashmir has derailed negotiations between the two countries. FIEO hopes that talks between India and Pakistan will ...

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 ...

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 ...