Becoming a part of the world's most integrated custom unions is an unmet dream of many precarious economies including Pakistan, which is seeking export-led growth for sustainable development. Quite recently, Pakistan, demonstrating as a civilised and true democratic state has withdrawn all its reservations on the right accord of the UN and EU, accepting all conditionality in order to have access to the western marker, particularly EU's.
European Union's financial, economic and political integration, which has not attained the highest level, is still considered as strongest trade-zone amongst the comity of nations. Consequently, Pakistan is struggling hard to acquire status of 'Preference' from the EU in its domestic market. Although, previously, giant economic unions offered trade access to the least-developing countries and disaster-stricken economies without expecting reciprocity, yet attaining access for countries in the middle of the development path remained much harder. Conversely, in the new economic world order, the criterion for trade access was modified, emphasising on two main dimensions; first, commercial and second political. In the first, high-quality control and ISO certification attains prime status and in the second, exporting country should observe all clauses of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention against Torture so that it could qualify for market access.
Pakistan remained deprived of trade access in European markets primarily due to quality constraints and lack of civil liberty and freedom of expression particularly in religious affairs. Very sensitive issues such as "Ahmedis" and "Blasphemy Law" are the main barriers that deny Pakistan to have access to EU's market on the preferred status, eliminating the stringent application of the ICCPR and GSP (Generalised System of Preference). Pakistan's withdrawal of its reservations on these instruments shall enable Pakistani products to get prestigious places in all sophisticated market centres with "zero-percent tariff".
In 2008, the economic planners emphasised reduction of import-bill so that trade deficit could be brought within affordable level. For it, several new tariffs on different products were introduced. Resultantly, the trade deficit was reduced but to a negligible level. Reviewed trade policy in 2010 suggested that in order to gain higher level of economic prosperity, the export level should be increased. These policy alterations brought reduction of $5.3 billion in the current account during fiscal year 2009-10 and helped raise foreign exchange reserves from $6.4 billion in 2008 to $17 billion in 2010-11. Still, a huge avenue for more benefit from a giant trading zone like the EU remained unaccessed. The following graph tells the story of the little bid to success in the arena of trade that Pakistan obtained since 2007-08.
European markets remained under economic recession due to the high price of food items and agrarian products. Causes behind high price of such commodities were expensive raw material, high labour cost and scarcity of natural resources like land and water. Conversely, Pakistan has enormous naturally enriched agricultural land, well-developed irrigation system and cheap labour, giving comparative advantage in the production of agricultural commodities. Henceforth, the trade partnership between the EU and Pakistan is highly viable economically. However, in order to attain zero-percent tariffs in the European market Pakistan has to follow the above-mentioned criterion that would ensure a free and fair society on the one hand and economic well-being through market access on the other hand.