Trade Dispute Resolution Organisation (TDRO) has started consultation for drafting a viable Trade Dispute Law. Director General TDRO Robina Taufiq Shah stated this while addressing the businessmen during her visit to Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) here on Thursday. She urged upon the chamber and other trade related organisations to play their proactive role in making this law comprehensive, effective and business friendly.
She said that initially Chief Controller of Imports and Exports was the only available regulatory body which was abandoned by Nawaz Sharif during his previous tenure with a view to facilitate the importers and exporters. This created regulatory problems while a new law was proposed with sufficient powers to the proposed regulatory body to streamline the import and export business by resolving the trade disputes. She said that with increase in volume of trade some unscrupulous elements entered into this field. After a long struggle TDRO was established in 2014 and Javedul Hassan Qureshi was appointed as its first Director General. He also retired in November 2014 and this task was entrusted to her to complete the basic requirements of this organisation.
She said that TDRO will only deal with the trade disputes with other countries. It has its offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi while other offices have been proposed in other cities including Faisalabad. She said that the Trade Disputes Resolution Act is being drafted in consultation with international and local experts in addition to involving all stakeholders including Chambers and other trade organisations in the country. We have also consulted our ambassadors posted in 170 countries to get their feedback and suggestions to make this law comprehensive in order to synchronise it with international laws.
She welcomed a proposal to sign a MoU with FCCI and said that TDRO has already signed an agreement with National Centre for Dispute Resolution for holding consultation with relevant stakeholders. Under this MoU, trade dispute resolution laws would be formulated in addition to imparting training to the exporters as well as officers of this organisation.
Earlier President FCCI Engr Rizwan Ashraf said that FCCI has taken a leading role by establishing two different committees to deal with the trade disputes. One committee is for local disputes and another is taking up the issues relating to the disputes with businessmen of other countries. He claimed that FCCI made arrangements with local police to settle the business related complaints. "We are very successfully dealing with these issues through our arbitration committees," he added. He also acknowledged the importance of drafting of new law and assured full co-operation from FCCI in order to make this law more effective and comprehensive. Chamber SVP Nadeem Iqbal Allahwala, Chaudhry Asghar, Shahid A Sheikh, Azhar Majid Sheikh, Rehan Ashfaq and Abdul Qayyum were also present on the occasion.