KARACHI : Pakistan Business Council (PBC) said normalization of relations between arch-rivals Pakistan and India does not seems a possibility in near future.
PBC stated that normalization is matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if in context of given geography.
PBC believes business community will greatly reap fruits of normalization.
PBC is actively engaged with Confederation of India Industry to come up with framework that will facilitate traders on both side of the border.
It may be noted that during normalcy, Pakistani traders do not get any real benefits from mutual trade as Indian authorities use non-tariff barriers excessively to discourage Pakistani products.
India imposes strict quality standards and certifications on imports from Pakistan.
In this context, a formidable trade policy is required to negotiate favorable terms for trade with India.
Pakistani exports to India surged from $84 million in 2003 to $312 million in 2015
Likewise, Pakistani imports from India has swelled from $226 million to $1.699 billion. These figures indicates that trade balance is heavily on Indian side.
India has imposed tariff rate for Pakistani products at 14.6pc whereas Pakistan has maintained it at just 6pc.
