Market access for Pakistan has improved and also for its trading partners. As a result of the WTO agreements, market access for the Pakistani furniture in industrial countries’ market has improved as tariffs have come down. Further, there is now protection available to Pakistan against any discriminatory treatment in our trading partners’ markets.
Pakistan has also opened its market substantially, among others, in respect of furniture including the wooden furniture to foreign suppliers. Since 1998 the import regime of Pakistan has been significantly liberalized through reduction in tariffs, rationalization, and removal of import quotas, import surcharges and regulatory duties. The un-weighted (i.e. simple) average statutory tariff has come down from 47.1% in 1997- 98 to 14.4% in 2006- 07.
The process in fact started in 1988 after the agreement on Structural Adjustment Programme was concluded with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Unilateral, liberalization has been in the case of Pakistan the principal avenue of liberalization of trade. Of course, Pakistan has been complying with all its commitments under the WTO. The net actual liberalization on the part of Pakistani Furniture has been much more than multilaterally required in our WTO agreements. Some experts are of the view that we should not have unilaterally tariffs reduced such a steep extent.
Competition has led to reduction in prices. Increasing competition in the world has also helped in reducing prices and improving quality of inputs i.e. improving import sourcing. This is of special significance because production structure of the furniture industry has undergone a significant change. Factories from dozen of countries now participate in the different stages of global furniture chains, manufacturing components and ready-to-assemble (RTA) components for finished furniture for globally outsourcing buyers’ groups and retailer chains.
New tougher requirements are being adopted. Pakistani furniture makers have now entered an era of increasing competition, as opening up of trade impacts both exports and imports. New tougher requirements for producing domestic, furniture according to stricter standards and more elaborate designs are being progressively adopted. The WTO system is dynamically evolving. The WTO regime is not static but is dynamically evolving. Currently, MTN are taking place on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The way these negotiations proceed and the ultimate agreement reached will influence the landscape of international trade (though at the moment the prospects of a satisfactory outcome are not bright).
Pakistan has also opened its market substantially, among others, in respect of furniture including the wooden furniture to foreign suppliers. Since 1998 the import regime of Pakistan has been significantly liberalized through reduction in tariffs, rationalization, and removal of import quotas, import surcharges and regulatory duties. The un-weighted (i.e. simple) average statutory tariff has come down from 47.1% in 1997- 98 to 14.4% in 2006- 07.
The process in fact started in 1988 after the agreement on Structural Adjustment Programme was concluded with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Unilateral, liberalization has been in the case of Pakistan the principal avenue of liberalization of trade. Of course, Pakistan has been complying with all its commitments under the WTO. The net actual liberalization on the part of Pakistani Furniture has been much more than multilaterally required in our WTO agreements. Some experts are of the view that we should not have unilaterally tariffs reduced such a steep extent.
Competition has led to reduction in prices. Increasing competition in the world has also helped in reducing prices and improving quality of inputs i.e. improving import sourcing. This is of special significance because production structure of the furniture industry has undergone a significant change. Factories from dozen of countries now participate in the different stages of global furniture chains, manufacturing components and ready-to-assemble (RTA) components for finished furniture for globally outsourcing buyers’ groups and retailer chains.
New tougher requirements are being adopted. Pakistani furniture makers have now entered an era of increasing competition, as opening up of trade impacts both exports and imports. New tougher requirements for producing domestic, furniture according to stricter standards and more elaborate designs are being progressively adopted. The WTO system is dynamically evolving. The WTO regime is not static but is dynamically evolving. Currently, MTN are taking place on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The way these negotiations proceed and the ultimate agreement reached will influence the landscape of international trade (though at the moment the prospects of a satisfactory outcome are not bright).
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