Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday cleared the much-awaited 'Trade Policy 2011-12', without extending any subsidy--a key demand of different sectors. "Nothing concrete came under discussion as they sat, had a chit-chat and dispersed," commented one participant.
According to an official statement, the recommendations of the Ministry of Commerce were approved, in principle and, as per previous practice, would be presented to the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet. After approval of Trade Policy from ECC of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Commerce would hold a press conference to brief the media.
"What I can say is that no decision has been taken in the meeting rescheduled several times due to non-availability of Prime Minister, as all the proposals are to be presented before the ECC," he added. Sources said that the meeting discussed only the performance of Commerce Ministry, and the operational part of the Trade Policy would be placed before the ECC.
Official statement said that the Ministry of Commerce gave a presentation on 'Trade Policy 2011-12' to the Prime Minister. The session was attended by Commerce Minister Amin Fahim, Minister for Finance Dr Hafeez Sheikh, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq, Secretary Commerce Zafar Mahmood, CEO of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Tariq Puri, Secretary Finance, Secretary, Ministry of Textile Industry, and Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue. The Prime Minister, while appreciating the performance of the Ministry of Commerce, congratulated the exporters for extraordinary achievement despite challenging conditions.
Sources said that Secretary Commerce complained to the Prime Minister about the Finance Ministry not releasing the committed amount for trade promotion. Finance Ministry had approved Rs 27 billion for the three-year Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF), but released only one billion rupees. This in turn implied that the Commerce Ministry could not fulfil its commitments with the exporters.
Sources said that the Prime Minister directed the Finance Ministry to look into the issues and release the committed amount. The Commerce Ministry argued that things cannot go in the right direction without spending money. It is pertinent to mention here that Commerce Ministry achieved $25 billion export mark in 2010-11, with substantial growth in both qualitative and quantitative exports.