The Commerce Minister informed the National Assembly in a written reply to a question during the Question Hour that the reason for increase in trade deficit was mainly due to hike in oil and other commodities prices which formed the bulk of Pakistan's import.
He said the Ministry of Commerce had developed a three-year strategic trade policy framework 2009-12 for achieving sustainable high economic growth through exports which would ultimately reduce the trade deficit.
To another question, he said the European Commission in the wake of devastation caused by unprecedented floods of 2010 announced concessions for Pakistan on 75 tariff lines in its meeting on September 16, 2010.
He said that the matter was discussed in the meeting of Committee on Trade in Goods (CTG) of WTO (World Trade Organization), where India opposed the grant tariff concessions to Pakistan, and that the issue would be discussed in the next meeting of CTG scheduled for November 7, 2011.
To a supplementary question of Ehsan Iqbal, Makhdom Shahbuddin said that the issue of announcing India as a most favoured nation would be discussed in the parliamentary committee and it could also be discussed in the House, depending upon the committee's decision.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011