Daily Times

The Commerce Division is formulating the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2018-23 which will provide strategic direction for the export sector for the next five years.

Tariffs, being one of the instruments of trade policy, play an important role in enhancing export competitiveness and productivity of the domestic industries. Although Pakistan has liberalized its tariff regime since 2005, the tariff structure remains complex and needs to be simplified. Commerce Division and the National Tariff Commission (NTC) have drafted the National Tariff Policy to make exports more competitive and facilitate participation of local manufacturers, including SMEs, in global and regional value chains.

The policy will be an integral part of the upcoming STPF 2018-23. The objective of the draft policy is to simplify and rationalise the existing tariff structure for enhancing the efficiency of existing domestic activities, especially in manufacturing sector, and simultaneously ensure predictability and transparency.

The draft national tariff policy recommends gradual reduction in duty on raw materials and machinery for export-oriented industries. The tariff slabs are proposed to be re-fixed at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%.The cascading of tariffs with progressive stages of manufacturing is proposed to be retained to promote value addition. It proposes to gradually bring the tariff lines, currently at the 3% slab, into the Fifth Schedule by reducing their duty to zero.However, the reforms may be introduced in phases to provide the domestic industry the time for adjustment.

The draft policy also aims to simplify the tariff structure and reduce distortions. The policy proposes to merge the additional duty of 1% under SRO 1178(I)/2015 into customs duties and the respective tariff lines. The policy also suggests the elimination of difference in the rates of tariff for the commercial importers and the industrial users of raw materials, intermediate goods and machinery to reduce the cost of production for SMEs.

Furthermore, to make the protection regime predictable and facilitate the investment decisions, draft policy also proposes to provide time-bound protection to the nascent industries. The national tariff policy recommendations will be implemented in a period of five years starting from the financial year 2018-19.

SSAI to observe strike on April 27against water, power shortage

The SITE Super Highway Association of Industries (SSAI) has decided to observe day-long strike onApril 27 in protest against prolonged water and power crisis in the industrial area.

The decision to this effect was taken at an emergency meeting of the association with President Shaiekh Kaiser Waheed Mangoon in chair.The meeting was held to hold consultation with general body members of the association on the issue of water and electricity crisis persisting in the industrial area for last several weeks.

Dr Kaiser said that industries in SITE Super Highway area had been facing imminent threat of complete closure owing to power and water crisis in the area.He said that accumulative losses of member industries of his association had run into several billions of rupees as several precious production hours were simply lost due to daily eight-hour load shedding in the industrial estate.

He lamented that the public utilities instead of alleviating adverse situation had been blaming each other and nobody looked serious at all to provide much-needed relief to the industrial consumers of water and electric supply services.He regretted that industries in the SITE Super Highway could neither get regular water supply from their municipal agency nor could they avail water tanker service as all water hydrants in the area had gone dry.

He said that government should not go for unplanned closure of water hydrants in the area when it could not ensure water supply through regular means.He warned that strike by member industries of association could prolong in case there was no relief in immediate future in terms of water and electric supply to the industrial estate.

Dr Waheed urged the government authorities to take corrective measures on immediate basis so that law-abiding and peace-loving industrialists were not compelled to prolong their protest.

Published in Daily Times, April 22^nd 2018.