India- Pakistan Trade Developments

[Yaduveer]

Unstable Pakistan with full of non-state actors can cause more harm to India than stable and prosperous Pakistan. So i m in support of trade.

 

[cyphercide]

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry are understood to have submitted representations to the government, suggesting that the issue of pruning the ‘negative list' should not be allowed to cast a shadow over the attempts to put in place a solid foundation for a long-lasting trading regime between the two nations.

This is where India has fudged.The list should been strictly reciprocal in nature(you take something off the list,we do the same). At this juncture,what motivation does Pakistan have to reduce items from it's negative list when India already has done it ages ago? The Indian establishment clearly underestimates the power of smaller economies that can restructure themselves in an instant as opposed to our massive and snail paced economic integration.Our government needs to look primarily and solely at our gains. You need to look no further than Sri Lanka or Bangladesh's growth(at our expense)for evidence.

 

[Alchemy]

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/indian-businesses-urge-pakistan-to-act-on-trade-list-214888.html



Islamabad: Indian businessmen urged Pakistan on Wednesday to speed up normalisation of trade and travel ties between the nuclear-armed rivals, after India’s commerce minister arrived in Pakistan with hopes that thawed trade links could help ease political tension.

Pakistan agreed last November to open up more trade with India by replacing a list of items its bigger neighbour can sell across the border with a shorter list of items that cannot be traded — a move regarded as key to improving commercial ties.

“It’s not peace that will lead to trade, but trade that will lead to peace … The direction is right but the speed is not fast enough,” Rajya Kanoria, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told Reuters.

India's Commerce Minister Sharma and his Pakistani counterpart Fahim attend a meeting in Islamabad. Reuters
“That’s the message I would like to give to the government of Pakistan and to the government of India. More to Pakistan, because that is really where the problems are right now. The signals coming out are mixed.”

Pakistan late last year agreed in principle to grant access to imports from India under Most Favoured Nation status but has yet to fully implement the change.

But Islamabad also accuses India of dragging its feet on reducing or removing non-tariff barriers to Pakistani goods.

Pakistan has said it would notify India by this month of the “negative list” of items that cannot be traded with its neighbour and would ease visa rules that severely restrict travel across the countries’ heavily armed border.

The list has yet to be completed, and Pakistan Commerce Minister Makhdhoom Amin Fahim said it was taking longer than expected because each item needed to be thoroughly evaluated.

“Our secretaries of commerce of India and Pakistan have had two meetings and they will meet in the near future and they are going to decide about each item. It’s a long list,” Fahim told reporters.

Lasting India-Pakistan peace is seen as vital to south Asia’s stability and to smoothing a dangerous transition in Afghanistan as NATO-led combat forces plan to withdraw from there in 2014.

Trade has long been tied to political issues between the hostile neighbours, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, with the disputed region of Kashmir the cause of two of the conflicts.

Trade ties were severed after the second war in 1965.

Indian businessmen, part of a trade delegation headed by Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma that arrived on Monday, said their Pakistani counterparts had showed enthusiasm towards normalising trade.

“The pulse of the business community in Pakistan is in favour of economic engagement with India, opening up the trade,” Vikramjit Sahney, chief executive of trading and consultancy firm Sun Group, told Reuters.

Reuters

---------- Post added at 08:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 AM ----------

It’s not peace that will lead to trade, but trade that will lead to peace

I completely agree with above point, Example holds good for India-china, China-US,China-Asean etc etc

 

[Pakistanisage]

I am not in favour of one way trade where India sends 2 billion usd of goods to Pakistan and buys 200 Million usd. this kind of trade is exploitative and self serving on part of India.

A trade based of trade deficit is not my idea of trade.

Pakistan should go for equal trade.

 

[bandit]

I am not in favour of one way trade where India sends 2 billion usd of goods to Pakistan and buys 200 Million usd. this kind of trade is exploitative and self serving on part of India.

A trade based of trade deficit is not my idea of trade.

Pakistan should go for equal trade.

Try making something worthwhile and maybe somebody will buy, whos stopping you anyways, we already gave you MFN, its not our fault if you still cant produce anything worthwhile.

 

[MilSpec]

I am not in favour of one way trade where India sends 2 billion usd of goods to Pakistan and buys 200 Million usd. this kind of trade is exploitative and self serving on part of India.

A trade based of trade deficit is not my idea of trade.

Pakistan should go for equal trade.

does the same hold true for china or usa... why not demand equal trade there too???

 

[Nothing]

I am not in favour of one way trade where India sends 2 billion usd of goods to Pakistan and buys 200 Million usd. this kind of trade is exploitative and self serving on part of India.

A trade based of trade deficit is not my idea of trade.

Pakistan should go for equal trade.

Add another 1-1.5 billion via Dubai and other GCC countries...
those are indirect export from India to Pakistan ..

---------- Post added at 07:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ----------

does the same hold true for china or usa... why not demand equal trade there too???

Bro try to understand difference between friend and enemy .. if friend robs its friendship but when enemy try to do genius trade its sin....

 

[third eye]

Barriers to be removed for trade relation with India: Fahim | Business | DAWN.COM

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim said on Wednesday the trade related hurdles and barriers would be removed to improve bilateral trade relations between Pakistan and India.

Addressing the Indian trade delegation here he said: “We were in the process of creating the best atmosphere for business communities of the two countries.”

He said the delegation was the follow-up of the meeting of both prime ministers held at Mohali, which emphasised for improving regional economic trade.

Indian Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma said India was working to bridge gap between the business communities of the two countries to enhance regional trade.

He said that regional economic integration, regional partnership and economic engagement were the best option for regional countries.

“If you take one step ahead, in return we will take three steps ahead which will be beneficial for the regional cooperation for bilateral trade,” he added.

He said that Pakistan and India were sovereign countries and had common problems of quality of education, health and poverty which could be possible by enhancing economic cooperation.

He said India is committed to take this relation to much high level which could help bring peace in the region “and we have to trust each other to achieve economic trade,” Anand Sharma said.

 

[Alchemy]

I am not in favour of one way trade where India sends 2 billion usd of goods to Pakistan and buys 200 Million usd. this kind of trade is exploitative and self serving on part of India.

A trade based of trade deficit is not my idea of trade.

Pakistan should go for equal trade.

You are still in the 70s and 80s kind of mentality which Indians had vis a vis the world. See the change and see the results now , it will have more benefits to pakistan too as much as it would be for India.

Also It will surely help people to people contact and more trade with each other means less likely that we would want to harm each others

 

[Devil Soul]

Pak-India trade: New routes, bank branches emerge on the horizon
By Shahbaz Rana
Published: February 16, 2012
ISLAMABAD:
It was the first visit by an Indian commerce minister to Islamabad in three decades but the firsts did not end there.
The neighbours signed three trade pacts and laid the groundwork for not only opening more land trade routes, but also bank branches in each other’s countries for the first time since their creation.
Representatives of the central banks are scheduled to meet in Mumbai next month to discuss this, said a joint statement issued after the talks.
“We are looking at doing more, including the opening of the bank branches, for which the two (central) banks are in dialogue and structural and institutional framework will be put in place soon,” Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told reporters.
Sharma, who crossed into Pakistan through Wagah Border last Monday along with 150 delegates, arrived in Islamabad after interacting with the business community in Lahore and Karachi.
He held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim on Wednesday.
Trade agreements
In a bid to further trade ties, the two countries signed three pacts – a customs cooperation agreement, a mutual recognition agreement and a redressal of trade grievances agreement.
These agreements were signed on the insistence of Pakistan’s business community that had complained about non-tariff barriers, particularly those regarding quality control and customs procedures.
Pakistan’s Cabinet on Tuesday had approved the signing of the three agreements but deferred a decision on switching over from a positive list of 1,945 tradable items, to a negative list of 636 items barred from trading, after some stakeholders expressed reservations.
It has been agreed that Pakistan will move from a positive list to a small negative list by the end of February, said the joint statement.
The negative list is to be phased out gradually and the timing for that will be announced by end of February, it added.
The complete phase-out that will automatically lead to full normalisation of trade relations, commonly known as the most-favoured nation (MFN) status, will be done before end of this year, the joint communiqué said. Once Pakistan notifies a small negative list, India will, within four months, consider tariff liberalisation, the statement added.
“These agreements will facilitate free flow of trade and we have also looked on multiple visas for (businessmen),” Sharma said, adding that neighbours have to be natural trading partners. Both sides agreed to explore the opening of the Munabao-Khokharapar route for trade, as desired by the Indian side.
A joint working group will be constituted in this regard which will report to the respective governments before the next round of talks between commerce secretaries.
Meanwhile, in March, a second meeting of the expert group on trade in electricity will be held in Lahore, the first meeting of the expert group on trade in petroleum will be held in New Delhi while the Trade Development Authority of Pakistani will organise a lifestyle exhibition in New Delhi as well.
To a question on barring Pakistan from investing in India, Sharma said that investments would be allowed “once economic engagement deepens.”
Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood said the process of trade normalisation is well on course but it is “time-consuming, hazardous and requires patience.” (With additional input from AFP)
(Read: Murmurs of change)
Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2012.

 

[SQ8]

, they don't want "WE" to get benefits from it , that's for all drama is going on from last 60 years

Had all contacts in the world been "people" to "people" and not rulers to rulers.. things would have been completely different.
In all globalized societies.. people from all around the world have shown the ability to live and co-exist together.

 

[Baby Leone]

hope thease steps from Pakistan will help india to liberalise trade,
as this is the only key to improve relationship these israelis & americans are just taking advantage to sell weopons to india (even when millions of ppls dying due to lack of food) sometimes they make india to fight with Pakistan & some times with china & so on.....its high time tht we realize the potential of our region.

 

[Varunastra]

Thats what the security establishment and some hardlines in Dehli dont realize..
Sure..India can work without Pakistan and still prosper.. and its Pakistan this is the needy one in trade.
But given the chance.. a strong trade partnership between India and Pakistan will make India growth skyrocket even further..
and take Pakistan's economy to heights it never dreamed of attaining.
This is the corridor between the middle east and the far east. We are sitting on a potential gold mine.

i totally agree with you sir!!!.........good trade relations between us can make both our countries economic superpowers!!!......i hope everything goes on well!!!

 

[Rocky25]

hope thease steps from Pakistan will help india to liberalise trade,
as this is the only key to improve relationship these israelis & americans are just taking advantage to sell weopons to india (even when millions of ppls dying due to lack of food) sometimes they make india to fight with Pakistan & some times with china & so on.....its high time tht we realize the potential of our region.

Ahhh sir, Please, Please, Please do NOT bring poverty, Starvation into Economy and defense related topics.

 

[pmukherjee]

Thats what the security establishment and some hardlines in Dehli dont realize..
Sure..India can work without Pakistan and still prosper.. and its Pakistan this is the needy one in trade.
But given the chance.. a strong trade partnership between India and Pakistan will make India growth skyrocket even further..
and take Pakistan's economy to heights it never dreamed of attaining.
This is the corridor between the middle east and the far east. We are sitting on a potential gold mine.

That is not entirely accurate. Who said that India does not need trade with Pakistan? There are many business houses here who would jump at the opportunity of doing business with Pakistan because they feel that they can earn huge profits by selling stuff in Pakistan at rates lower than locally available there but still higher than rates in India. There are also guys waiting to import stuff from Pakistan at lower rates than available here and so make a lot of money. IMO, the citizens of both countries will benefit from trade. Trade with Pakistan will only help the Indian growth rate and not harm it.