Smart talks needed at WTO

The controversial matter of EU concessions for imports from Pakistan is doing the rounds amongst local newspapers again. This time, the question is whether the EU parliament has approved the concessions or whether the proposal has been amended further.
Yet, regardless of the ruckus surrounding the EU parliaments approval, industry players are more keen about progress on another critical front - the go-ahead from the WTO.
The matter can find semblance to a dragging soap opera for having stretched to a point where occasional sprinkles of news - good or bad - hardly appear to be breathtaking developments. Its been over 8 months since the EU Council decided to slash off duties on some import items from Pakistan for three years starting from 2011, and the granting of concessions is still nowhere in sight.
The reaction of several other WTO member countries was, however, far from pleasing. These were countries with competing export interests in the EU textiles market such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India, Vietnam and Latin American countries like Brazil, and Peru.
Even the dilution of the concessionary package by EU member states in November 2010 - tariff suspensions to be applied for only two years, and a third year to be granted only after an assessment - did not bend the WTO much.
So, despite Pakistans diplomatic importance as an ally in the war-on-terror and despite the seemingly
eedy scenario the country landed in after the floods in 2010, theres something amiss that clogs progress at the WTO front.
Industry stakeholders claim that the missing piece in the puzzle is effective lobbying.
Earlier, Ijaz Khokhar, Chairman, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA), had pressed the government to send an official from the Ministry of Commerce or the Ministry of Textile to join the Pakistan representative in WTO to press for the approval of the trade concessions.
"We do not even have a Foreign Minister to represent our case at the WTO. Effective lobbying is largely missing," Khurram Mukhtar, Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, told BR Research.
It would be of interest to shed light on Pakistans representation in the WTO, which seems shriveled with a single male representative in comparison to other countries, particularly those objecting to concessions for Pakistan.
With 14 representatives - highest after those of major developed countries - Indias strong presence in the WTO is likely to be a colossal deterrent to progress on talks regarding Pakistans concessions.
Many in the industry have been critical of the package for not being significantly beneficial, as the promised boost of $140 million for Pakistans exports to the EU is minuscule relative to EUs total imports of over $4 billion from Pakistan, and Pakistans total textile exports of about $10 billion.

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WTO staff on regular budget

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               Women      Men     Total

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Brazil             3       6          9

India              3      11         14

Pakistan           -       1          1

Peru               3       4          7

Sri Lanka          1       2          3

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Source: WTO annual report 2010