India not granted MFN status, says Gilani

[lem34]

Awesome news. So looks like this government does have some sense after all.

No these crooks were probably told not to forget their place by high command

 

[ramu]

No these crooks were probably told not to forget their place by high command

It is such a difficult structure of governance in Pakistan. If a foreign country talks to Pakistan it is a bit difficult to understand who is the decision maker!

 

[Paan Singh]

india should go to wto.they will resolve this in a minute.
i dont know why GOI is banging their head with wall

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Still too many confusing signals.

Small traders say MFN status to India under US pressure | Business Recorder

Dubai to be hit by MFN status from Pak to India


TruthDive



Sorry No MFN status to you from me.

Concerns from some sections of the economy were always there, and no doubt various groups did lobby and put pressure on the GoP to reconsider/clarify the impact of MFN status to India.

Hopefully the GoP will take all sections of the economy on board and protect domestic industry where necessary, and trade where it benefits Pakistan.

 

[SpArK]

Gilani hasn't outright rejected granting MFN status to India either - he merely clarified that the initial announcement was related to cabinet approval in principle, with the matter going to the Commerce secretary to hash out the details and implementation.

Read the details rather than the headlines.

Exactly my thoughts. Anyway there was no outright suggestion that there is no granting.

There will be a process and will be an outcome, not so far...... as many countries have openly welcomed the move including China, Backtracking from it can cause lot of image damages.

---------- Post added at 11:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 PM ----------

Concerns from some sections of the economy were always there, and no doubt various groups did lobby and put pressure on the GoP to reconsider/clarify the impact of MFN status to India.

Hopefully the GoP will take all sections of the economy on board and protect domestic industry where necessary, and trade where it benefits Pakistan.

MFN will still work with restrictions with specifics.

 

[lem34]

Exactly my thoughts. Anyway there was no outright suggestion that there is no granting.

There will be a process and will be an outcome, not so far...... as many countries have openly welcomed the move including China, Backtracking from it can cause lot of image damages.

Its going to be a while b4 indians get what they really want. Pakistan aint going to rollover just like that to suit American and or India interests. Pakistan will do it when its in its own interests

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

It is such a difficult structure of governance in Pakistan. If a foreign country talks to Pakistan it is a bit difficult to understand who is the decision maker!

It isn't just Pakistan - the Bush Administration and business community in the US was in favor of the Dubai Ports taking over management of some port operations in the US when it bought out a European company that was originally handling those operations, but protests from conservatives and others in the media and Congress resulted in Dubai ports having to give up those operations.

There has been similar opposition in Congress and in the media to agreements (trade or otherwise) that the Administration of the time might wish to implement. The ROZ's proposed during the Bush Administration have languished supposedly because of the textile lobby in the US Congress.

This is after all how democracy works - Multiple groups with competing and sometime opposing interests lobbying/influencing the government to pursue policies that benefit them.

 

[SpArK]

Its going to be a while b4 indians get what they really want. Pakistan aint going to rollover just like that to suit American and or India interests. Pakistan will do it when its in its own interests

We are not going to get overnight rich by a MFN status from Pakistan, its just that since its the nearest country traders will have more opportunities.

People are seeing too much into the issue.

I cant believe you saying "Indians get what they really want" and all. unbelievable stuff. Really.

 

[lem34]

We are not going to get overnight rich by a MFN status from Pakistan, its just that since its the nearest country traders will have more opportunities.

People are seeing too much into the issue.

I cant believe you saying "Indians get what they really want" and all. unbelievable stuff. Really.

sorry mate I was still thinking on transit routes etc

 

[SpArK]

sorry mate I was still thinking on transit routes etc

Transit route only benefits small traders..like vegetable traders, and other small ones.... no biggies gonna use it since no promising market exists in Afghanistan in a larger scale.

 

[lem34]

Transit route only benefits small traders..like vegetable traders, and other small ones.... no biggies gonna use it since no promising market exists in Afghanistan in a larger scale.

sparky im talking about pipelines american geo political goals

 

[jayron]

There is no indication that the Army was responsible for this, so what is wrong with saying with my statement?

MFN status to India: Army not part of India trade equation, says Gilani
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD:
The prime minister’s message to those looking towards the army regarding the move to grant India a symbolic trading status is simple: it’s none of the military’s business.
Speaking to reporters at his residence in Lahore on Friday, Yousaf Raza Gilani said the most favoured nation (MFN) issue does not involve the army, and stressed that only the business communities and stock exchanges of Pakistan and India are legitimate stakeholders – and both are on board, as are the political parties of the ruling coalition.
He said that the cabinet has, in principle, given the go-ahead to the ministry of commerce to negotiate with their Indian counterparts.
However, notwithstanding the PM’s firm stance, senior civil and military officials held meetings at the foreign ministry to discuss the implications of granting MFN status to India.
The meetings were chaired by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and attended by military and intelligence officials. The foreign ministry did not divulge details regarding the participants.
“As part of regular consultations, the foreign minister today consulted all stakeholders on foreign policy issues including the resumed dialogue process with India, at the foreign ministry,” said a ministry statement.
In Lahore, Gilani concentrated on the commerce ministry’s role as Pakistan and India begin the nitty-gritty of negotiations. The PM said the ministry would need to take important decisions independently when it comes to bargaining with India over trade policy, hence it had sought the cabinet’s go-ahead.
Pakistan has already bestowed MFN status on more than 100 countries. The somewhat misleading designation ‘most favoured nation’ should not detract from the main concern which lies ahead for the two countries: working out mutually beneficial and lasting agreements.
While the MFN status will remove discriminatory higher pricing and duty tariffs that stand as barriers to export between the neighbours, non-tariff barriers continue to stand in the way of increased trade, say analysts.
Nevertheless, the meetings in Islamabad prove that Pakistan’s military cannot be totally ignored. Indeed, the consultations took place against the backdrop of murmurs that Pakistan might review its decision to fully normalise trade ties with India.
In a clear departure from a decades-old policy, the federal cabinet on Wednesday unanimously decided to grant India MFN status. Since then, mixed signals emerged from different government quarters about the issue.
A Reuters report, which quoted an unnamed Indian official accusing Pakistan of backtracking, added to the confusion. Pakistan moved swiftly to dismiss the claim.
“Pakistan is not backtracking,” Foreign Office spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua told Reuters. “Pakistan clearly stated that our cabinet gave approval to move forward on MFN status in principle.”
Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood was also adamant that the deal was still on.
“The cabinet has given approval for the complete normalisation of the trade relationship, and MFN is fully included in it and it is part of it,” Zafar said in comments broadcast on state television.
“We are extremely hopeful that there will be a major breakthrough in the next round of commerce secretaries’ meetings on November 14, 15 in Delhi,” Mehmood added. “We will finalise all the details in that meeting.”
Gilani was in an equally positive mood. Asked whether all stakeholders are on board, the PM said that the coalition government is united on the issue.
The PM was quick to reassure those threatened by granting India the trade status, saying that the interests of local and domestic industry would be protected.
Gilani also affirmed the cabinet’s executive powers. “We can brief Parliament over the cabinet’s decision of going ahead with MFN, but according to my point of view it is not necessary. Only cabinet approval is necessary to negotiate with other countries,” he said.
Giving an example of countries which had set aside political difference for bilateral foreign trade, Gilani pointed to China and India.
Friday’s intrigues came ahead of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Maldives next week. Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh are likely to meet on the sidelines of the conference.
(Read: Liberalising trade with India)
Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2011.

 

[ramu]

It isn't just Pakistan - the Bush Administration and business community in the US was in favor of the Dubai Ports taking over management of some port operations in the US when it bought out a European company that was originally handling those operations, but protests from conservatives and others in the media and Congress resulted in Dubai ports having to give up those operations.

There has been similar opposition in Congress and in the media to agreements (trade or otherwise) that the Administration of the time might wish to implement. The ROZ's proposed during the Bush Administration have languished supposedly because of the textile lobby in the US Congress.

This is after all how democracy works - Multiple groups with competing and sometime opposing interests lobbying/influencing the government to pursue policies that benefit them.

Yes that is correct. But here I don't think that is the case. This issue is hanging since the 90s. It is not like Pakistan got into WTO or signed SAFTA yesterday. This topic is debated to bits in both Pakistan and India. Imagine you are a minister in the Government of India and have had conversations with your counterpart in Pakistan for a decade and you are trying to explain what we want and finally things turn around and a media statement is made that Pakistan will grant MFN status and this was approved by the cabinet unanimously. Then a statement on the website of Pakistan Government is withdrawn after a day causing some confusion.
Next, Pakistan reassures India that there is no going back.
Then the Prime minster says that it is merely delegating a job to the commerce minister to look into the modalities of granting MFN status to India.

1. You dont have to unanimously delegate something. And make a big fuss about it. It shows the Government in poor light.
2. Instead of manipulating what was said, (in todays digital age it is futile anyway) be frank and straight forward
3. Why is the Government not saying we are reconsidering the proposal as it was met with a lot of opposition?
4. Before making the announcement why was the opposition / army / industry not consulted ?

 

[Mike2011]

Good for India........

 

[Tangent]

MFN status to India: Army not part of India trade equation, says Gilani
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD:

OMG, Itni palti to Madari ka Bandar bhi nahi marta....
BTW, there is some good business oppertunity comming pakistan way...anybody with business acumen should take dealership of Bajaj, TVS , Hero moto corp etc.. soon ..otherwise there will be a big queue ..as in India