Af-Pak joint chambers wants tariff barriers removed

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok):  The Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (APJCCI) has called for eliminating smuggling to boost trade between the neighbours.

“Smuggling should be eliminated with an iron hand as it is equally destructive for both countries,” said Faiza Zubair, secretary-general of APJCCI, on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), she believed the bilateral trade volume could be improved by removing tariff barriers that had given rise to illegal trafficking of goods.

She said: “The regulatory duty imposed by Afghanistan on Pakistani products happens to be 400 times higher than that levied by Pakistan. Mutual trade cannot grow in the presence of such duty structure.”

In order to overcome trust deficit, the business leader said, there was need for the establishment of an export house to check the quality specifications of goods before full payments were made.

The official called for LCCI to work out a comprehensive proposal about bilateral trade problems and their solutions in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

She said Kabul and Islamabad could resolve political issues. “That’s why we are going to arrange a grand combined meeting of all chambers of Pakistan very soon to discuss the export issue.”

mud

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