INDIA-PAKISTAN BILATERAL TRADE FOR 2012-2013 INCREASED

In 2012-2013 it was $2.6 billion up from previous year $1.9 billion.
Several proposals between two sides pending:

• 24/7 trade of all goods through wagah-attari border,
• Dismantling of negative list of 1209 items bringing down the sensitive list of items to 100 under south Asia free trade agreement
• At present only 137 items can be traded through attari-wagah border. By eliminating Pakistan negative list it would lead to non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) for India that is most favour nation status.

Most Favoured Nation- It is status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. The country which is recipient of this treatment must nominally receive equal trade advantages as the most favoured nation by the country granting such treatment( trade advantages include low tariffs or high import quotas). MFN is cornerstone of WTO trade law. MFN clauses have following benefits:

• A country that grants MFN on imports will have its imports provided by the most efficient supplier.
• Granting MFN has domestic benefits having one set of tariffs for all countries simplifies the rules and makes them more transparent.
• MFN promote non-discrimination among countries they also tend to promote the objective of free trade.

India granted MFN status to Pakistan but Pakistan has not yet granted the status to India. Pakistan had committed in the past however there are increasing calls in Pakistan to grant the MFN to china. During negotiation for $6.64 billion bailout package from IMF Pakistan had given undertaking that it would take positive steps to grant MFN status.