india-pakistan trade

[rvikz]

India awarded MFN status to Pakistan in 1995 under its World Trade Organization's obligations, but Pakistan has not followed suit.

Commerce Ministry figures show that between them, India and Pakistan import and export about 600 items worth $35 million every year. The Economic Survey of Pakistan gives a much higher figure of $250 million. Independent studies, however, put the
bilateral trade at between $1 and $2 billion -- most of which involves smuggling. Smuggled videotapes of Indian films, artificial jewelry and cosmetics are popular in Pakistan. Videotapes of Pakistani
television plays and dry fruit are smuggled into India.

Pakistan loses an estimated $500 million annually in custom duties to smugglers. But Pakistan still imports wheat from the
distant United States, which it could buy from India, and costly medicines and farm
fertilizers from third nations even though they are much cheaper from India.

And in early September, the military rulers rejected a proposal to sell surplus electricity to energy-deficient India, even
though the producer offered to give half the profit from the sale to the Pakistani
government.

Peace groups see trade as the only hope for normalizing relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

For them, each trainload of sugar brings more hope, but others continue to question
whether this is enough to sweeten the bitter ties between the two foes.

[sabah]

Rviks please post you comment along with the article you post, so we know what you want to talk about. As for this article, Pak-India trade ties can work both ways. India doesn’t trust Pak when it comes to ‘critical’ items, such as oil gas (ref. pipeline through Pak). I personally do not back Pak in granting MFN status to India, until we have clear policies about trade with India – now Indian movies aren’t ‘critical’ for Pak, however having Indian or Indian controlled industries in Pak can have a tiny little effect on Pak’s internal matters don’t you agree?

What trade with Pak means for India I don’t know, but I’m sure Pak products won’t mean much for India for several reasons, so peace through dry fruit isn’t very realistic hope. Waise bhi, there are so many different ways to block Pak or Indian products so until our leaders aren’t sincere about peace, I don’t think this sort of ideas are realistic.

[ZZ]

Originally posted by sabah:
Waise bhi, there are so many different ways to block Pak or Indian products so until our leaders aren’t sincere about peace, I don’t think this sort of ideas are realistic.

no.. there are not enough ways to block trade between neighbors. a huge smuggling goes on and will go on if there exists any price differencial on any commodity. i think it is more of political issue than realistic one. sometimes, if difference is large enough u can even see re-routing via other countries like Pakistan buying mangoes from UAE, does that make sense.

it is more of obstinacy than anything else. whom will pakistan or india sell power to, not to Honduras or Chile. And extra capacity which is not sold is lost money. They continue to lose money that way by restricting legal trade while losing revenue due to illegal trade anyway.

[sabah]

eeek sorry I meant to say, even if trade is legalized, both sides can block each others products – unnecessary checking can delay the orders, high prices can do the same etc. Sure both sides are loosing money due to smuggling, but some time smugglers have better moral values then political leaders.

[CM]

Also trade between the two countries won't work.
Both work in mostly the same industries.
Rice, which has been copyrighted by those ******* American companies.
Don't get me started on that topic.
Agri is all the same in both countries.
Natural Resources - same.
Fisheries - same.
What else??
Textile - same.
Sports goods - same.
The list goes on and on.
With free trade between the two countries, india would lose greatly due to the huge market provided to the pakistani products adn comparative advantage pakistan holds in some sectors.
While for the sectors india is better at, it won't gain much as the market in pakistan is so small.

------------------
CROIRE A L'INCROYABLE

[astrosfan]

Originally posted by CM:

Rice, which has been copyrighted by those ******* American companies.

RiceTek is pissing off as many of us Americans as they are everyone else. Actually, they are patenting the rice making process (???).

Fun fun.

[ZZ]

Posting views of Pakistani economists (From 'News on Sunday')

Q: Trade with India is a controversial topic. With APTMA keen on importing textile equipment, the argument of if we can play cricket, why cannot we do business as well persists. In a historical overview, smaller countries have always benefited more from such partnerships. What are the hinderances?

Akbar Zaidi (Former finance minister): "The military would lose its rationale of interfering in Pakistan's economics and politics if things improved with India. It is in the military's interest to keep things the way they are, and we all are the sufferers and losers for this extremely myopic view.

"Better trade with India, which is very much in Pakistan's economic and political/international interest, will always be vetoed by a military so actively engaged in Pakistan's domestic and foreign policy."

VA Jaffery: (Assistant Secretary General to UN) "The economic view is that trade always emerges due to mutual benefit. It has to be on equal terms and the problem lies on political terms. If we start trading, we are thought to become soft on other issues and it is not acceptable to the leaders.

"Raw cotton or sugar that could be sold to a nearer market and cost the buyer relatively less as well. Interference by the government is evident on either side, the real issue is that it should not develop into partisan politics and appear costly to the betterment of the country."

Hafiz Pasha: (Economist) "I have always felt that we should try in a limited way to open up trade with India, we should find sources of supplies from countries like India of imports which we make anyway, looking at trade diversion that way we get cheaper goods without damaging our own industries.

"Items like pharmaceticals, chemicals agricultural goods like sugar and salt whilst the political issues are being resolved they are goods we import in any case and with this it will help in reducing our overall import bill."

[This message has been edited by ZZ (edited December 31, 2000).]

[rvikz]

i know the military elite terrified by
peace and good will between pakistani and indian people. they will do anythin to prevent frindship being developed.
their ideology is it is impossible for both countries to live in peaceeven after separation. why pakistn has to pay extra to import items thousands of miles away paying transport costs when it is available next door. why pakistan has to force its poor people to pay extra . that is why lot of smuggling takes place.

[CM]

Hello we are talking trade here!!
ZZ link please if it is possible.
Now taking the topic at hand.
We would lose out badly to india as we don't have competitive advantage in most sectors that we share with india.
The economy is 100 time bigger, so if we open up trade our own domestic and infant industries.
Trade is good when both benefit and not just one.
Also we don't want to trade with india as it is the regional power, we in no way want to be dependent on trade with india, in case of any break in relations.
Pakistan would suffer more if trade relations were cut.
And rvikz i wonder how terrified the indian govt is with not having Pakistan and the ISI as scape goats for your own peoples racists sentiments - the Nepal incident is just one.

------------------
CROIRE A L'INCROYABLE

[ZZ]

News on Sunday, http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/weekl...index-nos.html goto political economy section. they change it every week.

[CM]

Thanks ZZ.

------------------
CROIRE A L'INCROYABLE

[outlaw]

As much as I a support the Kashmiri people in principle, I also think that Pakistan should reep the benefits of trade with India. Open trade will play a vital role in raising the standard of people.

As ZZ mentioned, Pakistan has the tendency to export electricity and gas to 'energy-thirsty; India. In return, Pakistan can save huge sums of foreign exchange on importing medicines from India, which are far lower in prices than their Western counterparts. These are just one of the many examples.