Export, import matters: Ministries, except MoC, banned from issuing permissions

The Federal Cabinet has imposed a ban on issuance of export/import permissions by the ministries except Ministry of Commerce (MoC) as the latter was unhappy on such instances, saying that this practice promotes rent seeking; well-informed sources in the MoC told Business Recorder. This decision was taken during a discussion on a summary of the Commerce Ministry "imposition of ban on export of personal protective equipment".
Commerce Ministry apprised the Cabinet that the outbreak of COVID-19, commonly known as Novel Coronavirus, emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and has caused widespread disturbance across the globe. The unabated spread of the strain has made the health experts apprehensive of the likely emergence of new clusters in Europe and the Middle East, which could accelerate the global spread of the deadly disease.
The public authorities across the world are struggling hard to contain the spread of the virus with discouraging results. So far, over 250 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Pakistan. Given the emerging scenario, the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination (MNI-ISR&C) and the National Disaster-Management Authority (NDMA) have issued advisories as precautionary measures to safeguard against the outbreak in the country.
These advisories, however, were issued without consultation with the Ministry of Commerce. In order to curtail the outbreak of coronavirus in Pakistan, the availability of sufficient quantity of first aid material such as N-95 masks (facemasks and gloves) and goggles are utmost essential at all tiers of the health units.
The wearing of facemasks and gloves, for both the patient and the handler, is considered the first and immediate treatment against the viral disease. The sources said, the MNHSR&C has informed of the consultation process undertaken with the stakeholders and the National Institute of Health (NIH) for assessing the baseline requirements of the country and stockpiling accordingly.
The MNHSR&C has also provided a list of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with the request to ban the items till the completion of the process of assessment and stockpiling. The MoC sought the approval of the Cabinet to impose a ban on the export of the following PPE as requested by the MNHSR&C till the completion of the process of assessment of the baseline requirements of the country and stockpiling; (i) tyvek suits; (ii) disposable gowns; (iii) disposable gloves; (iv) face shields ; (v) N-95 masks; (vi) biohazard bags; (vii) goggles; (viii) shoe cover; (ix) surgical masks, and; (x) hand sanitizers.
During the discussion, one of the members highlighted the need of conducting a SWOT analysis to determine the impact on economy and identify opportunities in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The MoC brought to the notice of the Cabinet that while it is responsible for imposing/relaxing ban on export and import, there have been instances where divisions had themselves exercised these powers, adding that this was highly undesirable since it promotes rent seeking.
The Cabinet took a serious note of the "violations" and directed that instructions be issued to all divisions to refrain from imposing ban on export/import of items falling in their respective sectors and instead send proposals to Commerce Ministry.