Pakistan refuses MFN status to India

[Rafi]

IMO india is the eternal enemy of my blood, my land, my race, my religion, peace is not possible with these people, I say this with a heavy heart, and would love to be proved wrong, but that is the reality.

 

[muse]

Then to live with such a threat, such a poison, is to not live at all -- destroy it and save yourself and your progeny

 

[mautkimaut]

You seem to forget that when pakistan and china made there friendship there was no gain financial or military for either.
That friendship has remained steadfast as true friendships should do.
Its just pakistan luck that a dear childhood friend has become a billionaire and he knows that we where there with him when there was no gain in it for us.
Trying to twist them "helping us" into them trying to "use us" is nothing but bitter jealous words from from a common foe.

The reason for your friendship is the hatred for India.
China seems to have moved on and concentrates on Business but Pakistan still is not sure if business with enemy is good or not.
China is doing so and making tonnes of money .. why shouldnt you?

 

[DV RULES]

India doesn't stand on level to get MFN, trade also can possible without being a favourite state. Strange some people are talking here about Africa,China & Pakistan, they are forgetting truth of Indian poverty level and statistics. So do favour with yourselves stepping toward some mature attitude while discussing over topic keeping in knowledge all facts & figures.

Trade doesn't dependent on particular titles required by parties or party.

Very openly hatred for India will not going to end, why? It should be clear so no talk over it. You have to no concern over China - Pakistan relations because they are at level where India has no access.
Business depends over lines of agreement mostly offered to trustful partner & we have China proving trustworthy partner, we can’t blindly open everything to business partner who ever hold knife in bucket of flowers. Trade on state level or demanding MFN not so simple, again we have many other political, regional, territorial & strategic problems to solve before making any milestone in business relations.

You people talking about trade deficit?! Surprise how blindly words are slipped out without any overall regional knowledge, but only sitting & jumping on 900 million $? Go ahead with these figures because to explain I have to remind many PDF threads over South Asian regional situation & how effects on economical conditions of a country.

Our trade deficit only because of some REAL BUSINESS PARTNERS & THOSE WHO ASKING US FOR MFN.
I think no need to explain, everything is clear.

 

[JayAtl]

JayAtl,

That is your perception. Those in Pakistan know what we are getting and what we are not and there aren't any significant strings attached.

From an economic perspective Pakistan has chosen to fall in love with china and not seek to be a vocal partner. why? because it has allowed china to overrun a huge trade deficit, to the detriment of killing Pakistan's home grown industry.

Take at look the what i read in the past Pakistan News Service - PakTribune

another thing: did you know all those highway projects with china. that you have to:

1. must hire their companies to do it ( overwhelming majority share)- Pak industries are not allowed anywhere close to it
2. Must pay them royalties for years on those projects

you guys are fully capable of building roads and highways. In some regards you guys have had better infrastructure vs India . But all these projects of dams , power stations by China- you are getting taken to the bank on them.

Pakistan has to pay china for decades ongoing royalties, plus principle plus interest!- one would get fired in a corporate environment if you had such horrible contract negotiations



Pol Eco, NOS, The News International Pakistan dumping grounds for china

analysis of mutual trade statistics reveals that since the signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries in Nov 2006, China has exported goods worth around $ 11 billion whereas Pakistan’s exports could hardly reach $ 0.25 billion.

Another misbalance in this respect is that Pakistan imports about 1,000 items from China while the latter’s export-basket is limited to hardly 50 items. Pakistan exports items like seafood, cotton yarn, leather, marble, fruits, sports goods, rice, raw hides and vegetables. On the other hand, China exports almost every thing available under the sun to Pakistan and that also at very low prices. Mass availability of these goods at low rates has pushed local industry out of competition.

Pakistan’s local industry alleges that the absence of government patronage and lack of supporting infrastructure, like energy, water, roads, has spurred import of cheap Chinese goods into Pakistan. Industrialists say China dumps a lot of goods into Pakistan but no action is taken for various reasons. The biggest of these is that Pakistan does not want to take even a symbolic step that harms friendly relations between the two, they add.

a report prepared by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) reveals that due to the dumping of China clay crockery from China, the pottery industry of Pakistan has disappeared from centers like Gujranwala and Gujrat.The report says out of a total of five units, four have closed their commercial operations. These are Prey China, Dada Bhoy, Pakpur, and Regal China while the last one -- Lone China -- is on the verge of collapse.

The trade deficit right now for Pakistan is $5.2 billion.

 

[Abhishek_]

Timeline set for Pakistan granting MFN status to India

In a spirit of accommodation anchored in pragmatism, the Commerce Secretaries of India and Pakistan have agreed to take on board each other's concerns regarding the trade regimes in either country and explore new avenues for bilateral trade while side-stepping the ‘so-called' ticklish issues that dominate mainstream discourse.

After two days of deliberations, a detailed joint statement was issued on Thursday, setting a timeline for addressing the identified doables including Pakistan granting the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India and moving to a negative list approach in tariff lines, and New Delhi amenable to addressing Islamabad's concerns regarding Non-Tariff Barriers that restrict the flow of Pakistani goods into India.

Briefing the journalists, Pakistan's Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood said the difference between the previous four rounds of talks on Commercial and Economic Cooperation was that this time the effort has been to create institutional mechanisms and prepare a road map to make the process “irreversible and structured.”

Complementing his counterpart's statement, Indian Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said both sides consciously sought to break from the past while preparing a timeline for the measures that need to be taken to create an enabling environment for bilateral trade to realise its full potential.

Trade on electricity

A major new initiative proposed pertains to trade of electricity between the two countries. The two sides decided to set up a group of experts to examine the feasibility, scope and modalities of such trading. The composition of the group will be finalised by June-end and its first meeting has been scheduled by October.

Another group of experts will examine a similar proposal for trade in petroleum products including building cross-border pipelines and use of the road/rail route including the Munabao-Khokrapar route for this purpose. A third new proposal pertains to trade in Bt cotton seeds that would help Pakistani farmers and the textile industry raise cotton yields and ensure better cotton security.

Preferential arrangement

The joint statement also mentions exploring the possibility of entering into a mutually agreed preferential trade arrangement to promote trade by extending tariff concessions on products of export interest to both countries. This was proposed by Pakistan but since this is an issue to be decided by the Trade and Economic Relations Committee, the Indian side did not make any commitment. Also, India's contention is that Pakistan should honour its existing international commitments like granting the MFN status to India as per the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area first before exploring new trading regimes.

Asked if India agreed to give up its opposition to the European Union package for Pakistan to help tide over part of the losses faced by its textile sector owing to last year's floods, Mr. Mahmood said this was not flagged because it was not a bilateral issue as such. “It was a package formulated by the EU and it was the EU which took it to the World Trade Organisation Committee and it will be defended by them. We have approached India in the past and would like India to support us.”

The Hindu : Business / Economy : Timeline set for Pakistan granting MFN status to India

 

[Hafizzz]

'Pakistan intends to give MFN status to India'
'Pak intends to give MFN status to India' - Hindustan Times

Pakistan's intention to extend the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India is "a milestone", a leading Pakistani daily said on Saturday. An editorial in the Dawn said Pakistan has expressed its intention to extend MFN status to India. Indian Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar and his Pakistan coun
terpart Zafar Mahmood led the April 27-28 talks aimed at boosting business between the two countries.

Trade talks were suspended in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 that left 166 people dead. India-Pakistan ties were considerably strained following the terror attack.

Pakistan's commerce secretary has "assured" Indians of the coveted MFN tag by October this year, the paper said.

"There appears to be no mention of an Indian wish for a transit route to Afghanistan and beyond, and Pakistan says it did not raise the issue of Indian opposition to the EU decision to provide duty-free access to Pakistani goods.

"This brings out the truly bilateral nature of the two-day talks."

The editorial said the MFN status "is the milestone the current Pakistani and Indian negotiators are looking for right now, and they will claim they have earned it through assiduous work and breaking old taboos".

It went on to say that two countries have taken a long time to have "an earnest discussion on trading items such as electricity and petroleum products. They promise to do so in the coming months".

"Advancing to the MFN stage may, to an extent, depend on the progress made in these areas which have a special significance for Pakistan. Pakistanis will also be keeping a close eye on how many non-tariff barriers India can remove," it added.

GENEROUS Pakistan !!!

 

[Awesome]

Only in Pakistan animosity takes precedent over even basic business sense.....

India is enemy country ,blah blah .....why call it Most Favoured Nation ? Absolutely Childish ...

Actually India is to gain by an MFN and Pakistan to incur losses. Its not the same the other way round or makes negligible difference. Contrary to what you have been lead to believe, it didn't make business sense and it did make diplomatic sense. It will be done when it makes business sense, like the IPI deal.

 

[Ignited Mind]

GENEROUS Pakistan !!!

RECIPROCATORY Pakistan.

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

IMO india is the eternal enemy of my blood, my land, my race, my religion, peace is not possible with these people, I say this with a heavy heart, and would love to be proved wrong, but that is the reality.

Hmmmm....Don't be sad. I can feel your pain.

@topic....

I am really glad that pakistan refused the MFN status to India and i want pakistan to keep refusing this MFN status to India.

 

[vijayjha]

Pakistan to grant MFN status to India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has finally agreed to grant the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, something which it had been demanding for many years.

A senior official of the Ministry of Trade disclosed on the condition of anonymity that the status of MFN would be granted during the current year. It was learnt that Pakistan has in return asked for immediate lifting of non-tariff restrictions on commodities coming from Pakistan.

Sources said that Trade and Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim would announce basic changes in Pakistan’s trade policy. One of the amendments will be a draft to review the list of trade items between the two countries. According to the source, Pakistan has agreed to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India this very year in return for lifting the non-tariff restrictions on imports from Pakistan. This will fulfil the long-standing Indian demand in return for lifting of non-tariff restrictions alone.

 

[Night_Raven]

Wonder what Pakistan's media and people's take on this ?

 

[vijayjha]

turn out to be a good day for india internally (Jan Lokpal issue) and externally (MFN status news by Pakistan)

 

[Tapas]

I am not sure about this MFN stuff, but surely these two countries are having billion dollar trade.
Then why think about going further which is not welcome?
Lets live with it, we weren't friend and won't be. So there will be trust deficit, which cannot be filled in in decades.

Instead I urge both parties to cooperate in business and trade.
This is and will be required. Nothing more.
And for business and prosperity sake, keep all the hurting and poisoning comments from this thread.

Difficult, but pls try...

 

[Xracer2]

Yahooooooooooo