SMC meeting ends inconclusively

Kathmandu, February 27: The second meeting of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) Ministerial Council (SMC) held in Kathmandu on February 26 ended in a deadlock as the disagreement between India and Pakistan surfaced.

India raised the issue of non-compliance of the SAFTA by Pakistan and stated that Pakistan had resorted to selective implementation of the multilateral trade agreement in the case of India, violating SAFTA agreement.

India also warned that it could withdraw market access facilities to Pakistan, if pakistan refused to open up its market for Indian products as agreed in the pact.

Similarly, Pakistan claimed that India had not extended to it the Most Favoured Nation status even though it granted the status to India.

Commerce ministers of all SAARC countries took part in the meeting, which was dominated by Indo-Pak word war.

SAFTA signatories are to allow each other to freely trade in 4,200 items approximately.

India said Pakistan, instead of allowing it to trade in the 4,200 items freely, had provided it with a ‘positive list’ of only 773 items, for which there is no provision in the SAFTA agreement.

India also maintained that it had offered every concession to Pakistan that had been granted to other SAFTA members by it.

SMC asked both the countires to sort out the differences and report the progress in the next SMC meet to be held after six months.

SAFTA envisions zero duty on trade by 2012 with three more years to LDCs like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Bhutan News Service