While chairing the 20th meeting of the Standing Committee on Commerce, Chairman Syed Naveed Qamar expressed serious concern about Pakistan’s high textile tariffs as compared to other regional competitors.
He urged the government to take immediate steps regarding the rationalization of tariffs of the Textile Sector.
He said that Textile and Apparel accounts for over 60 percent of Pakistan’s exports, and higher import tariffs are increasingly being dubbed as the tax on exports making exports uncompetitive.
Advisor to the Prime Minister for Commerce, Textile and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, informed the Committee that National Tariff Commission (NTC) was directed to complete the study of the Textile Sector to rationalize the tariffs of the sector in line with the recommendations of the study.
He further informed that the objectives of the study were to rationalize tariffs on the inputs and intermediate goods used by the textile sector, remove tariff anomaly in the textile value chain, gradually remove excessive protection to remove anti-export bias, and improve consumer welfare.
The Committee also discussed the draft proposals prepared for the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA). Dawood informed the Committee that the Cabinet extended three months in the APTTA, as it was expired today. He added that we have sufficient time to continue negotiations on finalizing the new Agreement.
He said that the Afghan side has requested that the monopoly of the TPL tracker may be finished, and more companies may be shortlisted by Pakistan Customs to avoid the shortage of trackers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Advisor answered several questions and queries of Hon. Chairman and Members of the Committee.
The meeting was attended by member national assembly (MNAs), Ali Khan Jadoon, Muhammad Yaqoob Shaikh, Mian Muhammad Shafiq, Wajiha Akram, Sajida Begum, Farukh Khan, Usman Ibrahim, Rana Iradat Sharif Khan, Rasheed Ahmed Khan, Tahira Aurangzeb, Shaista Pervaiz, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani and Mohsin Dawar.
The meeting was also attended by Adviser for Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood along with the Secretary Maritime Affairs, Special Secretary Commerce, officials from representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and representatives from All Pakistan Textile Mill Association (APTMA).
Source: Propakistani