Check and balance: Trade imbalance alarming

KARACHI:

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) invited Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s attention towards the increase in trade deficit by 28% within two months of the current fiscal year.

Pakistan’s trade imbalance was recorded at $4.243 billion during July and August of financial year 2014-15 as against $3.308 billion of the corresponding period of the previous year, showing a rise of 28.3 percent.

“Due to the World Trade Organizations (WTO) promotion of free trade regulations, the government cannot ban import of any item and place it on the negative list but it can check the imports made from undisclosed money,” said Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver, lamenting the unnecessary imports of soft drinks, confectionary, clothing and leather goods. Merchants import goods to distribute throughout the country and pass it across the borders.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2014.

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