ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, directed the government to ensure the representation of all the provinces in the Board of Directors of Exim Bank.
Committee was informed that a consultancy firm would be soon hired to prepare the manual and business plan for the Exim Bank. State Bank of Pakistan will license the bank after the consultancy finishes all work required for the bank’s functioning which will be before June next year. The post of chief executive officer will also be advertised again.
Commerce committee met here with Chairman Shibli Faraz in the chair to discuss a number of agenda of items including the matter of negative impacts of 90% of Pakistan’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries. The trade deficit with China has increased from $4 million to $12 million.
In this regard, committee members raised a number of questions including whether the commerce ministry was coming up with any plan that the FTAs were signed in a way that specialists and stakeholders were in close contact for feedback on the terms of these agreements when they are being signed. Senator Shibli Faraz also questioned what compels us to go for a FTA and how do we monitor and safeguard our interests after signing.
Therefore the secretary commerce told the committee that volumes of imports had gone up irrespective of FTAs and there are multiple reasons leading to this. He said that the ministry had engaged in structured discussion in the process to help avoid trade deficit and to safeguard the local manufacturer as well as farmer.
The matters of import of huge quantity of powdered milk injurious to health and of restriction on imports of PVC scrap on the pretext of being hazardous were also discussed in the meeting. Commerce ministry told the meeting that the powdered milk imported in country is subject to standard control and is checked by the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) under the ministry of science and technology.
The committee while discussing the Act of TDAP, observed that it is too widespread and its work ambit is to be constrained. Commerce ministry told the meeting that inherently nothing is wrong with the act and the trade development authority is working towards rationalizing the major objectives. TDAP will share its recommendations in amending the act with the committee who will subsequently share its views.
