Pakistani products'' access to EU market: final decision to be taken at WTO on January 31

Final decision on the access of Pakistani products into EU market would be taken on January 31 at World Trade Organisation (WTO). Although a country has some technical hitch, hopefully sympathetic to the fact that it could help them responsibly act. Ambassador of Delegation of the European Union, Jan De Kok expressed the hope in a roundtable talk at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.
Ambassador contended that trade regulations of WTO were good for various trading regimes. Being law abiding citizens, EU could not deviate from the rules, he said. He said after the decision, EU would go ahead on agenda of giving status of GSP plus, but Pakistan must fulfilled the criteria for qualifying for GSP scheme.
He said the negotiation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India is underway currently. Having enormous population and economic size, India has distinguished to other countries. Signing of FTA with Pakistan, he said they had to look into it if FTA was mutually benefited to EU and Pakistan. Pakistan deserves market access into European market on political grounds because it will help to reduce existing trust deficit between EU countries and Pakistan by providing more employment''s to people of Pakistan, he said.
He further said it would also help provide job opportunities of those youngsters who joint fundamentalists and extremists because of poverty. Aid is still valuable to Pakistan to achieve its millennium development targets. EU countries are supporting Pakistan by investing in education and rural sectors to counter the increasing poverty. "We also realise that private sector had capacity to create jobs and assisting in this direction," he said.
In the last 2-3 years, the relationship between EU countries and Pakistan has significantly been changed towards betterment. "Yes, there is still enormous trust deficit less in you and me than ordinary Pakistani citizen and European citizen," he said.
The obvious reason is many people made their opinion after watching calamities and other pictures and change of public opinion of both sides was complicated and need a lot of work to do, he said. "If you ask as largest trade partner to be more generous than we are in trade, it is more valuable to you if we fostering you to do better trade relationship with your neighbouring countries like India, Afghanistan and China," he said.
Potential of trade in regional countries should be tapped by Pakistan as it would bring prosperity in the country, he said, adding, but EU countries did recognise you have immediate problem. He said that EU is largest provider of FDI to Pakistan but accountability, good governess, rule of law and democracy are the pre-requisites to attract foreign investment in Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan needs regional economic integration like EU countries for the acceleration of business activities. EU will help Pakistan to enhance its economic and political relations with its neighbouring countries, he maintained. Chairman of the Islamabad Programme in Global Studies (IPGS), Senator Enver Baig said that market access creates limitless opportunities, resulting not only in competitiveness, jobs growth, exchange of technological know how, and development of skills, but also leads to the empowerment of people to meet present and future challenges. Market access granted by EU will help Pakistan to build up its capacity to become a more effective and competitive actor in international economic relations, European Union''s trade concession is a transitory arrangement that would ultimately lead to consideration of GSP Plus status to Pakistan, he added.
Mahfooz Elahi, President ICCI asserted that the EU must realise the fact that Pakistan needs trade not aid to overcome its economic woes, and to provide help in rebuilding our economy that has badly been hit due to last year''s devastating flood. However, we appreciated that European Commission in the wake of devastation caused by the unprecedented floods has announced concessions for Pakistan on 75 tariff lines subject to WTO waiver, but despite of our major share in home textiles exports, it was excluded in the offered list, he observed. He said the business community has concerns on it and urged that EU should review concessions list and give more access to Pakistan''s textile products, especially home textiles.