No decision by India, Pak to resume talks on bilateral trade

The commerce ministries of India and Pakistan have not yet decided to resume talks on bilateral trade issues, Parliament was informed today.

"No formal decision has been taken by Commerce ministries of India and Pakistan to resume talks on bilateral trade," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Bilateral trade talks have been suspended since last year following escalation in violence at the Line of Control.

In 2012, Pakistan had committed itself to giving the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India but missed its own deadline because of domestic opposition.

Pakistan has to abolish the negative list of 1,209 tradeable items. Abolishing the list of items that cannot be imported from India means the grant of NDMA status to the country.

Major sectors included in the negative list of Pakistan are auto, steel, paper & boards, plastics, textiles, electrical machinery and pharma.

NDMA (Non-Discriminatory Market Access) is a nomenclature chosen by the Pakistani government to avoid political ramifications at home in giving India the MFN status.

Replying to another question, Sitharaman said the Commerce Ministers of India and Pakistan met in January here and reaffirmed the commitment to expeditiously establish normal trading relations and to provide NDMA on a reciprocal basis.

"At various fora, senior functionaries of Pakistan and representatives of a few trade and industry bodies in Pakistan have voiced concerns about the so-called Non-Tariff Barriers in India and have also raised apprehension that opening up of trade with India will harm certain segments of Pakistan's economy," she said.

Replying to another question on tea, she said as on July 31, eight tea gardens remain closed in the country.

"The tea gardens are reported to have been closed due to loss of production and incomes, poor management and financial liabilities. In some cases, ownership disputes, protracted litigation and financial mismanagement have caused the closure of gardens," she said.

Replying to another question on foreign trade policy (FTP), the minister said it is the endeavour of the government to make India a major player in the world trade by 2020 with focus on enhancing exports and playing an important role in the international trade bodies.

The broad principles of FTP include support for increasing India's export growth by adopting market diversification and product diversification plans and maintaining a stable policy environment.

"One of the guiding principles of FTP is that the taxes should not be exported. Therefore, exporters are granted access to duty free raw material or are provided refund of duties paid in manufacture of exported products," she said.