Pakistan-India Trade:

Recommendations

Info

The Pakistan-India Trade Relationship: Prospects, Profits, and Pitfalls Siachen and Sir Creek talks. It is unfortunate but true.” 9 A few weeks later, Pakistan’s government announced that it could not conclude an oil trade deal with India. The reason given was Pakistan’s insistence that it not import more than 25 percent of its petroleum needs from India, because of “security considerations.” 10 Moreover, despite the wealth of trade accomplishments in 2012, the year drew to a troubling close. After Pakistan removed agricultural goods from its negative list in November, farmers—a large component of Pakistan’s labor force (about 40 percent of Pakistani jobs are agricultural)— ominously threatened “to take matters into their own hands,” including “physically blocking” agricultural imports from India. Meanwhile, India’s economy continued to stumble toward year’s end, raising the prospect of increased populist and protectionist sentiment in that nation. Nonetheless, potential remains high. The two governments and business groups continue to meet regularly, and officials frequently offer reassurance—not to mention bold predictions. In November 2012, the president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaking at a meeting with visiting dignitaries from nearby Indian Punjab, projected that bilateral trade would rise up to $5 billion in just a couple of years—nearly double the current volume. 11 Ultimately, the trade normalization process will experience highs and lows. Yet this volume’s contributors are emphatic that the reasons for pushing forward on trade are compelling, with immense potential payoffs for both sides—and beyond the region as well. As Mahmood, the former Pakistani commerce secretary, writes in his essay: “Although the [trade] process between the two countries is bilateral, the entire world has a stake in peace in South Asia.” * * * This book and the conference that preceded it represent the ninth in an ongoing Wilson Center series on critical economic challenges in Pakistan. This project is very generously supported by the Fellowship Fund for Pakistan (FFFP) in Karachi. We are deeply indebted to Munawar Noorani, FFFP’s chairman, and to the other members of the FFFP board of trustees and advisory council for their encouragement, | 15 |
Michael Kugelman counsel, and support. We also are very appreciative that Mr. Noorani was able to travel to Washington to participate in the 2012 conference. The editors also wish to single out several Wilson Center colleagues. Joshua Spooner of the Asia Program provided invaluable administrative and operational assistance for the conference and the book. Kent Hughes and Elizabeth Byers of the Program on America and the Global Economy were helpful and enthusiastic co-sponsors. And we thank Senior Scholar William Milam for making an invaluable contribution to the conference. We owe another large debt of gratitude to this volume’s eight contributors. They are all busy people, and we are very thankful to them for sacrificing their own precious time to participate in the conference and to produce thoughtful essays. Finally, this volume is dedicated to our children and grandchildren: Adam, Connor, Dylan, Hana, Holly, Wren, and Zoe. If trade liberalization does indeed represent a first step toward eventual and lasting peace on the Subcontinent, then this youngest of generations will celebrate the leadership in Pakistan and India whose foresight and political courage led to such a happy outcome. endnoTes 1. “Pak-India Trade Still a Fraction of $40 Billion Potential,” Express Tribune, March 13, 2012, http://tribune.com.pk/story/349146/ pak-india-trade-still-a-fraction-of-40-billion-potential/. 2. Nisha Taneja and Pallavi Kalita, “Most Favored Nation: New Trade Opportunities for India and Pakistan,” Economic and Political Weekly, December 3, 2011, http://www.epw.in/ commentary/most-favoured-nation-new-trade-opportunities-india-and-pakistan.html. 3. Hina Rabbini Khar, “Foreign Policy in a Young Democracy,” address at LUMS, April 30, 2012, http://www.mofa.gov.pk/Downloads/LUMS-speech-HRK.pdf. 4. Farhan Zaheer, “Auto Parts Makers Want a Decade to Compete with India,” Express Tribune, October 23, 2012, http://tribune.com.pk/story/455357/ auto-parts-makers-want-a-decade-to-compete-with-india/. 5. Aisha Chowdhry, “Real Talk: Perceptions of India-Pakistan Trade,” Foreign Policy (AfPak Channel), May 2, 2012, http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/05/02/ real_talk_implications_of_india_pakistan_trade. 6. Michael Kugelman, “The Long and Rocky Road to India-Pakistan Rapprochement,” NOREF Expert Analysis, October 2012, http://www.peacebuilding.no/Regions/Asia/ | 16 |
Page 1 and 2: Pakistan-India Trade: What Needs To
Page 3 and 4: This publication marks a collaborat
Page 5 and 6: Available from : Asia Program Woodr
Page 8 and 9: | vii | Contents The Pakistan-india
Page 10 and 11: The Pakistan-India Trade Relationsh
Page 28 and 29: Moving Toward Pakistan-India Trade
Page 40 and 41: Pakistan’s Trade with India: Thin
Page 56 and 57: BoX 2: The new (old) road to Kashmi
Page 62 and 63: Perspectives from India | 53 | ARVI
Page 64 and 65: Perspectives from India growth econ
Page 66 and 67: Perspectives from India Pakistan. T
Page 68 and 69: Managing India-Pakistan Trade Relat
Page 74 and 75:
Managing India-Pakistan Trade Relat
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Additional Trade Challenges: Transp
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Product Code Additional Trade Chall
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106 and 107:
What Can India and Pakistan Do To M
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Non-Trade-Related Stakes of the Pak
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Recent Asia Program Publications Pa
Page 140 and 141:
Recent Asia Program Publications Ch
Page 142 and 143:
Recent Asia Program Publications Th
Page 144 and 145:
Woodrow Wilson Center Pakistan Scho
show all

Pakistan-India Trade:

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?