India demands Pakistan MFN status, but without links to non-tariff barriers
India wants Pakistan to grant it a MFN trade status without linking it to non-tariff barriers.
India wants Pakistan to grant it a "Most Favoured Nation" (MFN) trade status without linking it to non-tariff barriers.
India, which has official bilateral trade of over $2 billion with Pakistan, granted it MFN status in 1996.
"India has already started addressing a few real barriers like licensing problems faced by cement exporters from Pakistan, but little can be done about perceived barriers such as high quality standards, and these should not be linked to MFN," an Indian government official told Economic Times newspaper on Monday.
In April, Commerce Secretaries of the two countries had set October as deadline for granting MFN status to India. But last month, Pakistan's Commerce Minister Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim refrained from announcing it during his India visit because demands of links to non-tariff barriers.
An MFN status will open the doors for all Indian goods, currently only about 1,934 goods are allowed based on a positive list. Because of trade restrictions, a lot of Indian exports to Pakistan are routed through a third country, such as Dubai, raising costs. Trade through third countries is also estimated at $2 billion.
The opening of a second gate at the Wagah- Attari border and an increase in trade hours will also help in customs clearance.
India has also introduced some changes in policy, the Bureau of Indian Standard agreed to increase the licence period of Pakistani cement suppliers two years from one, the same as it does to domestic manufacturers.
India, which has official bilateral trade of over $2 billion with Pakistan, granted it MFN status in 1996.
"India has already started addressing a few real barriers like licensing problems faced by cement exporters from Pakistan, but little can be done about perceived barriers such as high quality standards, and these should not be linked to MFN," an Indian government official told Economic Times newspaper on Monday.
In April, Commerce Secretaries of the two countries had set October as deadline for granting MFN status to India. But last month, Pakistan's Commerce Minister Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim refrained from announcing it during his India visit because demands of links to non-tariff barriers.
An MFN status will open the doors for all Indian goods, currently only about 1,934 goods are allowed based on a positive list. Because of trade restrictions, a lot of Indian exports to Pakistan are routed through a third country, such as Dubai, raising costs. Trade through third countries is also estimated at $2 billion.
The opening of a second gate at the Wagah- Attari border and an increase in trade hours will also help in customs clearance.
India has also introduced some changes in policy, the Bureau of Indian Standard agreed to increase the licence period of Pakistani cement suppliers two years from one, the same as it does to domestic manufacturers.