Trade with India and trading strategy
By: Dr Kamal Monnoo | May 23, 2012
There exists a lot of confusion at home on issues of bilateral trade with India in particular and on what should be Pakistan’s strategy at WTO (World Trade Organisation) forums vis-à-vis global trade and protectionism in general. Actually, when one closely looks at these two main policy decisions confronting the Pakistani policymakers, one realises that, in essence, for us the right way forward in both cases is common and one which firmly hinges on the elements of free and fair trade. Expand the scope of free and fair bilateral trade and you get a global model, Mother of free trades, in the shape of the WTO, an institution that promotes a culture ofinternational trade reflecting these very principles.
Its message statement: “Establishment of a rule-based global trading regime based on free, fair and ethical trading practices in order to promote global equality and alleviate poverty from the world.” Likewise, the guiding principles for trade relations between any two countries cannot be different either – a win-win for both and gestures of reciprocity that ensure not only enhanced mutual returns, but also control the pace of trade in a manner that the trading partners keep pace with each other and that one does not race too far ahead of the other. One cursory glance at the Indo-Pak trading history and it becomes obvious that when it comes to bilateral trade, India has been the main beneficiary between the period 1996 (period when WTO policies on removing quotas and lowering tariffs started coming into effect) to date!
