Exports should be enhanced to make economy stable: PEW
Click here to View Printed Statement
All the trade deals should be aligned to national interests
The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) only way to end dependence over IMF and pave way for national development is to improve the external sector.
Pakistan can never be a prosperous country unless its exports and more than the imports for which concrete steps are needed, it said.
The government should facilitate export sector while review all the free trade and preferential trade agreements, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
He said that FTA with China is the single most damaging deal finalized by the government as interests of the country were compromised to benefit the business community of the friendly country.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that widening export-import gap has become a threat, therefore, the government should immediately re-examine its strategy to reduce the cost of doing business.
He said that trade deficit of the last year has touched all time high mark of thirty billion dollars while current account deficit for the ongoing fiscal may jump to 24 billion dollars while there is no way insight to service debts without the help of the IMF.
Export earnings must be more than the import bill to reduce foreign dependence for which changing the direction of the economy and focusing on industrial expansion with special attention to the value addition is imperative.
The government should try to reduce the cost of doing business, improve GDP to investment ratio, announce tax breaks, and spare existing taxpayers while trying to expand the tax net.
All the countries have changed their policies to make their export sector competitive through innovation, research, education, and by finding new markets but nothing has been done in Pakistan except for tall claims and encouraging statements.
