European bloc may open doors to Pakistani goods

Talks to be held with Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland in April.

ISLAMABAD: After clinching a deal with the European Union for import of Pakistani products without any duty, other countries of the continent have also shown willingness to hold talks on the same lines, Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood said on Friday.

Talks are expected to be held with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) group in April and if concluded on a positive note, it will further boost Pakistan’s exports, the secretary said. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) includes Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland.

Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood informed this in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani regarding access to European markets on Friday.

The first batch of items will be exported to the European Union markets without any custom duties from January 1, 2013, the secretary informed. The World Trade Organization (WTO) approved the European Union package on February 14 and is currently awaiting the approval of the EU Parliament. The WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods approved a waiver on customs duties for 75 items, mostly textile related, from Pakistan to help the country recover from 2010’s floods.

The secretary said that the over and above impact on Pakistan’s export would be around $450 million from the tax-free exports.

It was also decided at the end of the meeting that the prime minister would preside over the envoy’s conference meeting belonging to the European Union during his forthcoming visit to UK to appreciate the support.

During the meeting, representatives of the private sector called upon the government to take immediate action for the continuous supply of energy to the export industry in order to fully capitalise the expected tariff concessions from the EU and EFTA countries.

The prime minister said that the government had addressed the circular debt issue to a large extent which would lead to electricity being generated at its maximum capacity and improve supply considerably. He said that he had already held a meeting with the representatives of All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers Association earlier in the day who came up with some out of the box solutions to overcome the energy shortage.

The meeting was also attended by Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2012.