The member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have urged Pakistan to further concentrate on diversifying its export base and making use of the multilateral trading system to further its development objectives.

The WTO member countries gave their suggestions during the 5th Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Pakistan which concluded on April 1, 2022. The Pakistani delegation was led virtually by Muhammad Sualeh Ahmad Faruqui, Federal Secretary of Commerce. Over 30 officers from more than 20 government ministries /departments participated virtually in the meeting, while Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the WTO was physically present at the WTO in Geneva.

Dr Bettina Waldmann, the Permanent Representative of Germany to the WTO, was Pakistan’s discussant and provided an insightful comment on Pakistan's trade policies in both her opening and closing remarks.

According to Commerce Ministry, all WTO members are subject to a review and the frequency of members’ trade policies and practices depends on their shares in world trade. Pakistan’s last trade policy review took place in March 2015. The WTO General Council meets as the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) to undertake trade policy reviews of members under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The review engages in surveillance of national trade policies and as such is a fundamentally important activity running throughout the work of the WTO.

TPR is a very rigorous activity spanning almost a year and culminates in the production of two reports, one by the WTO Secretariat and one by the government under review. These reports are the basis for the review process where members provide their feedback, ask for clarifications, and make recommendations.

During the review, which took place for two days, close to 320 questions covering a broad range of areas from trade and economic perspectives were asked by member countries in writing. A committee comprising members from various federal government departments, including Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the WTO was constituted in the Ministry of Commerce, to respond to the queries raised by member states.

MoC states that 33 member countries intervened to give their comments on Pakistan’s policies, to ask supplementary questions, and to provide feedback on cross-cutting issues.

Members noted, in particular, Pakistan’s economic resilience in tackling shocks of Covid-19 and its rapid economic recovery. Members appreciated Pakistan’s policies of tariff rationalization, its move towards an increase in exports, and shrinking current account deficit, particularly, in the wake of the Balance of Payment crisis and the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pakistan was commended for its effective implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the installation of the National Single Window which would gel in with the national priorities of regional connectivity of facilitation and trade transport, and integration into global and regional value chains.

Members noted the legislative enactments in the areas of trade and industrial expansion, including STPF 2020-25, mobile manufacturing policy, automobile manufacturing policy, SME development and youth entrepreneurship, e-commerce policy, Ehsaas Programme and GI Law, amongst others. With its eye on the future, Pakistan’s focus on a green economy and gender mainstreaming, in line with SDG 5, were also noted. Pakistan’s openness towards foreign direct investment and streamlining of regulatory practices were also lauded by the members.

The story was originally published in Business Recorder on April 03, 2022.