Review meet by PM to discuss MFN status given to Pakistan postponed to next week

India accorded the status of MFN to Pakistan in 1996

A meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status given to Pakistan by India has been postponed to next week.

The meeting set for 11 am on Thursday has been postponed till next week although a date is not clear, sources in the Commerce Ministry told under conditions of anonymity.

After 18 Indian army soldiers were killed earlier this month in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir allegedly by terrorists supported by the neighboring country, demands have gone up from within the government to revoke the MFN status accorded to Pakistan back in 1996 . Pakistan has not reciprocated the move and continues to deny India MFN status.

While economic offensive can take many forms, revoking Pakistan’s MFN status may harm India’s position in multilateral trade forums, commerce ministry officials had earlier told Business Standard on conditions of anonymity.

The MFN status is governed by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Countries signatory to the agreement commit against discriminating each other and rest of the WTO member countries. This implies that every time a country lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it has to do so for the same goods/services from all its trading partners.

Since being established, the MFN clause has been upheld by the WTO it has worked as a bulwark against dubious, partial trade practices by countries and promoted free trade under a framework of mutual openness

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is currently on a trip to Canada to discuss trade ties. Ministry officials confirmed she will be coming back on September 2.