International trade in a globalized world is not an arbitrary phenomenon. Rather, it follows a comprehensive regime of rules and regulations, and quality and standards. These obligations arise because Pakistan is a member country of the World Trade Organization (WTO) whose rulebook applies to Pakistan like any other responsible country of the world.

The statement was made by the Director General of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), Zain-ul-Abideen, while he was visiting the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), in Karachi on Friday. “Being a member of WTO imposed a lot of technical barriers on the international trade of a country and we cannot skirt them if we have to increase our exports and industrial base,” he said.

“Tariffs and barriers are a permanent feature of international trade. It depends on the mutual will of the trading countries to increase or decrease them according to the needs of their industries. They help in regulating trade and development of manufacturing sectors. They also help in creating value by meeting the standards of the international standards organization. Consumer economies and productive capacity are two modes of keeping the growth level intact,” he said.

“FPCCI and PSQCA should regularly liaise with each other to solve issues and develop a framework for negotiating easy deals for FPCCI stakeholders. This will help FPCCI to work more fully to meet its productive and economic capacity. Consumer economies of the world offered a great opportunity for FPCCI to grow its operations and develop its businesses. But it will not be possible if we do not have the knowledge about tariff regimes and rules of WTO,” he said.

PSQCA Chief fully appreciated the offer of FPCCI on Pakistan Single Window (PSW) through its Vice Presidents Engineer M A Jabbar and Shabbir Hassan Mansha and FPCCI nominee Director Khurram Ijaz on PSW.

He said that, “PSQCA is integrating the systems between PSQCA and PSW into a digital network. It will help in swift clearance of the goods imported or manufactured locally against the standards of quality set by the PSQCA.

PSQCA has already included seven products in its first stage for fast clearance through inclusion in the electronic clearance of TBTs. PSQCA has successfully integrated itself into the WTO’s regime of standards and quality checks. One of our packages which is TBT is officially accredited as Inquiry Point for WTO. It will continuously update regulatory criteria according to international norms and standards.”

“PSQCA is looking into sanitary and phytosanitary conditions as standards for sale and manufacturing of products to ensure health, safety and hygiene of human beings, plants and the environment. We are available to serve business needs 24/7, especially to match tariff-related clearance. We are doing our best to conduct research on earliest TBT clearance and risk management system,” he added.

“We are also considering the issuance of certificates based on RMS of those goods, which are branded, and have an in-house testing facility for issuance of these certificates. After the first inspection, the certificates issued will remain valid for one year. Business interest groups can have those certificates for a considerable time period, which will be called Green Period Certificates,” he said.

A coordination committee will be formed with members from both FPCCI and the PSQCA to resolve issues of business interests in a consistent manner. Zain-al-Abideen also affirmed the demand of FPCCI to publish the specifications contained in the mandatory standards on PSQCA website.

He also conceded to the FPCCI that differences in identical and similar goods should be demarcated through more than eight digits of HS code. Marking fee cost towards higher compliance will also be reduced for mutual interest. Selling of counterfeit qualities of mineral water will also be cracked down upon with help from provincial governments to ensure the safety of citizens. Fast clearance of 74 goods awaiting TBT clearance will be done on priority basis since it goes against the ethic of ease of doing business.

Zain-al-Abideen further said that there was a need for conversant people in the committees of FPCCI and PSQCA so that communication on vital issues could be carried out to make sure that issues and concerns of both parties are heard and addressed to maintain a working relationship.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk