ISDS Case Map
SAFTA
With the implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) remaining in limbo, Nepal has been negotiating with a number of South Asian countries to sign bilateral Free Trade Agreements.
Unless there is enough political will to close potential loopholes disguised as “flexibility” and pursue reforms deeper than those ever before attempted, RCEP may be seen as serving the geopolitical interests of a few players, to little economic effect.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Harvest Tradings Ahmed Jawad has said that to boost the trade with the neighbouring country the government needed to review the Pak-India trade agreement. Talking to INP here on Sunday, Ahmed Jawad said that there was no other option than enhancing trade to normalise the bilateral political and diplomatic relations with India.
The South Asia Free Trade Agreement (Safta) appears to be a ‘disaster’ for Pakistan’s agricultural sector and is backed only by the industrial lobby.
The Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan could not prove instrumental in increasing agriculture exports to India, observed a report sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
There are several safeguarding measures under WTO regime to save industry even after normalisation of trade with India, as delay in this regard will jeopardise the process of liberalisation of trade between the two neighbours.
Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India rose nearly 20 per cent to more than US$ 4.50 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2011-12 following reduction of sensitive lists by the relevant authorities in both the countries in late 2011.
Businessmen and traders of Pakistan and India have agreed that infrastructure bottlenecks are hindering the growth in trade relations between the two sides and these should be removed to deepen the ties.
The decision taken by Pakistan and India to scale down tariff to a maximum of 5% and remove all non-tariff barriers (NTBs) by 2020 will lead to regional integration, according to an official of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Domestic manufacturers are having nightmares as the tariffs of imported finished goods from South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) member countries would come down to five percent from the next fiscal year, while the duties on raw materials used to produce same products remain much higher, an official said on Saturday.
