Q: Discuss any one major problem that exists in Pakistan India trade and how it can be

resolved.
Answer:
There are many Problem exist between Pakistan Vs India But major problem that exists in
Pakistan India trade is Market Access To India.
Market Access To India:Pakistani businesses want to do business with India. Allowing more products for trade
will help in reducing transactions cost for exporters of both the sides. India and
Pakistan should also open more trade routes. It will increase business flows.

There is a sense that India, which gave MFN to Pakistan in 1996, did not give it market access.
These two go together unfortunately. Pakistan on the other hand might not have given MFN to
India but has given substantial market access and this has now been reflected in our trade figures.
The trade balance has, in fact, increased manifold in favour of India. Pakistans exports last year
were $327.496 million while Pakistans imports from India totalled $1809.867.
MFN is a designation and a technical term WTO and India can ask for, but we have been talking
to the Indian government to say lets call it non-discriminatory access (NDA), or as some call it,
non-discriminatory market access. NDA is good enough, its a more useful and workable term.
In Pakistan there are certain sectors that have reservations on trading with India. Agriculture is
one of them. The others are pharmaceutical, auto parts and automobiles, the synthetic fibre-based
clothing or fabric. We have to find some way ultimately the NDA is something we are going
towards and I dont think it will take long, the Nawaz Sharif government is keen and the Indian
government is also talking about it.
The other issue, of course, is that trade does not happen in a vacuum. It is also affected by the
political differences which the two countries are very adept at raising again and again in so many
different contexts. In order for trade to be established on a firm footing, an equally crucial part,
which people tend to forget, is investment. Trade and investment must flow across the borders
and for investment to take place there must be a certain comfort level. That can only come from
the peace and the political side.
MFN is also connected with that how the Pakistani nation perceives India as conducting itself
and similarly, and how the Indian people perceive the Pakistani government as conducting itself.

MFN, as I said, maybe a red herring now it distracts us from what is the real issue which is
non discriminatory access and as well as a level playing field for both countries.

Measures To Solves These Issues:(i)

(ii)

since India is a bigger economy, it should give trade preference to Pakistan;

Consignments from Pakistan reaching India should be cleared and released in

(iii)

one working day;

Big shopping malls of India should have dedicated shops only for Pakistani

(iv)

products;
All states of India will have warehouses for distribution and storage of Pakistani

(v)

goods;
Pakistani

and

Indian

trade-related

institutions

should

cooperate

and

collaborate on trade related issues. Joint trade-related analysis on a six-

(vi)

monthly basis should be carried out for further recommendations;

Pakistan will have the right to NDMA status if agreed issues are not resolved in

(vii)

decided timeframe;
Free of cost warehousing and cold storage be provided by the government on

(viii)

both sides of the border for agricultural and perishable items;

Intermediate goods and raw materials should be removed from Pakistan's

(ix)

negative list for India;

Visa policy for Pakistan should be revised and improved and Pakistani

(x)

businessmen should be given visa facility on arrival;

A dedicated window for Pakistani goods on Indian ports for processing and

(xi)
(xii)

clearance;
A proper mechanism should be installed for resolving bilateral trade issues;
Pakistani banks and financial institutions should be allowed to open branches

(xiii)

in India;
India must bring down bar of its NTBs in general and Pakistan-specific bias in

(xiv)

particular;
Talks on trade liberalisation can also be linked with revival of Pakistan and
India sports and cultural relations especially cricket and hockey on home
grounds