Senators term trade policy a wish list

Demand its rationalisation to achieve targets

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Commerce has called the proposed Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2015-18 as nothing more than a wish list and believes the government will never achieve its objectives without making the plan more rational.

The committee, which met on Thursday headed by Shibli Faraz, expressed concern that its proposals, given earlier during an in-camera briefing on the policy framework, had been ignored.

Federal Commerce Secretary Muhammad Shahzad Arbab told committee members that the STPF was with the Prime Minister Secretariat for final approval after sailing through the departments concerned. “There is no possibility of amendments to the document at this stage,” he remarked.

Committee Chairman Shibli Faraz pointed out that the Senate panel had in the briefing highlighted certain things for making changes in order to make the policy more vibrant and applicable, but the Ministry of Commerce did not consider the suggestions.

“The proposed trade policy seems to be directionless and visionless and nothing could be achieved,” he said. “The policy appears to be totally a wish list based on mere imaginations.”

TDAP affairs

Earlier, officials of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) spoke about the organisation’s performance.

They said the TDAP board had recently approved appointment of four more members on the board in order to increase the strength to 12 members from the existing eight.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th,  2015.

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