UNISAME URGES RECONSTRUCTION OF TRADE POLICY

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) offered constructive criticism and urged the federal commerce minister Khurram Dastagir to reconstruct the Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2015-18 on modern lines to facilitate the SME sector to meet the global challenges and meet the export target.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver speaking on a local television channel pointed out the importance of facilitating the entrepreneurs to increase exports by providing export credit guarantee, access to finance, modernizing banking by training them in risk and collateral management, discounting of bills of third world countries and banks having low rating. He emphasized the need to stimulate our commercial attaches and also make the delegations meaningful by proper planning.

Since the trade policy also covers imports it is pertinent to note the increase in imports bill due to free imports of various goods by undeclared money. The import duty on raw material is lower than that on finished goods. This encourages imports of finished goods. There is need to promote industries of goods made from indigenous raw material and import substitution and innovative industries.

Thaver lamented that the much talked about Exim Bank is delayed for no valid reason and also the SME Bank is kept in the lurch.

He highlighted the need for product improvement, up gradation of industries especially the agricultural produce items and serious focus on primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. The primary sector is the source of raw material and needs to be developed. There is a technological gap and the government needs to arrange for transfer of technology and subsidize it. The various chambers of commerce and industry in the country need to play an active role to modernize the agro based industries without which the value addition sector will not be able to meet the global challenges.

The supply chain is getting bad to worse and unless efforts are made to improve the resource points and the chain it will damage our image.

He urged the need to streamline barter and border trade through currency swap and well defined free trade agreements (FTAs).

He emphasized the need for more effective roles of PCSIR, Engineering Development Board, National Productivity Organization and SMEDA for integrated efforts to uplift the sector.

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