Tag: Trade

SHANGHAI - China said Sunday it had posted its first quarterly trade deficit in seven years, despite a narrow surplus in March, as rising commodity prices pushed manufacturers' costs higher.
China recorded a small trade deficit of $1.02 billion for the first quarter, its first since the beginning of 2004. But analysts said a large trade surplus was expected for the full year as its exports tend to grow later in the year.
"China's demand is strong and the prices of bulk

KARACHI - The Iranian government has said that Tehran was taking all out measures to offer Pakistani businessmen visa certificates for their free movement across the border.
"Efforts are underway to offer businesspersons visa certificates for entry and exit from Iran," said Commercial Counsellor of Iran in Pakistan Ahmad Fasihi, while meeting Pakistan Chemicals and Dyes Merchants Association (PCDMA) Chairman Muhammad Haroon Agar and the managing committee members. Fasihi, who had

LAHORE - A five member delegation of Thailand's Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, led by its President Adirek Sripartak, visited office of the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) and held talks with the PBIT management to explore areas of mutual interest and to boost bilateral trade.
PBIT Vice Chairman Rizwan Khan, PBIT Director General Habib Gilani, Sajid Yousafani and other high ranking officers participated in this meeting. PBIT Vice Chairman Rizwan Khan welcomed members of

LAHORE - Following the record-breaking 14.5 percent surge in the volume of exports in 2010; world trade growth should settle to a more modest 6.5 percent expansion in 2011. The sharp rise in trade volumes last year enabled world trade to recover to its pre-crisis level, but not its long-term trend and WTO economists believe a recent series of important events around the world lend to a greater degree of uncertainty to any forecast.
"The figures show how trade has helped the world

CANNES - British broadcasters are offering their international counterparts an array of royal-related products at the MIPTV trade show this week ahead of the much-anticipated royal wedding.
Up for sale at the world's premier market for buying and selling programming are documentaries about Prince William and fiancee Kate Middleton to historical shows about royal weddings over the decades.
A one-off special production by Britain's BBC Worldwide, "William and Kate: A Royal

KARACHI - A buying delegation from Bosnia is currently on a visit to Pakistan, with the aim to search new ways of boosting the bilateral trade volume - standing at around two million euros per annum.
The delegation, which is presently visiting various industries and factories in Lahore, Sialkot etc, would visit Karachi on Thursday to meet exporters and members of various chambers and associations, sources said.
The foreign delegation would also visit leading industrial

KARACHI - Pakistan Towel Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (PTMA) Chairman Syed Usman Ali has urged the government to strongly lobby the European Union to access the trade concessions announced by EU for Pakistan.
The TMA chief, in an issued statement, said that EU had announced the provision of tariff relief for Pakistani goods in view of the devastation wreaked by floods last year. The value added textile (VAT) sector selected for the relief package encompasses the towel

NEW DELHI - Pakistan and India are expected to take gradual steps to revive bilateral trade ties but there should be no expectations of any spectacular announcements, a top government official has said.
The two sides have decided to resume the dialogue as part of Manmohan Singh's cricket diplomacy. Dialogue between the two neighbours came to a halt after the Mumbai attack more than two years ago. Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar will travel to Islamabad next month to discuss

NEW DELHI - India has banned trade in all goods and services with Iran that could help Tehran pursue development of nuclear weapons, a government statement said. The changes were made in new foreign policy trade rules to conform with a UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear and missile development programme, said the commerce ministry. India sits as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. The changes posted on a government website

NEW DELHI - India has banned trade in all goods and services with Iran that could help Tehran pursue development of nuclear weapons, a government statement said.
The changes were made in new foreign policy trade rules to conform with a UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear and missile development programme, said the commerce ministry.
India sits as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
The changes posted on a

LAHORE - The Punjab Assembly (PA) on Wednesday turned into a battlefield as Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) female members of the provincial assembly (MPA) and Unification Bloc members abused each other showing their immaturity.
As soon as the house proceedings started, the question hour related to the home department began on which Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah started answering questions. After the question hour, house proceedings were in progress when Unification

KARACHI - Pakistan and Sri Lanka are set to revise the existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as part of a bid to drastically enhance the volume of bilateral trade by $2.0 billion by the next year.
Existing trade volume stands at around $300 million between the two South Asian countries during the last five years. It is deemed an insignificant amount, despite the FTA being in place for the last five years. The agreement needed to be revised to include more items from both sides to

ISLAMABAD - The commerce secretaries of India and Pakistan will be holding a two-day dialogue by the end of April in which Pakistan will again try to convince India not to oppose the European Union trade concessions, to be discussed at the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) General Council on May 3, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday.
Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood told reporters that a date for the Indian commerce secretary's visit was being finalised and was most likely to

KARACHI - The supply of commercial and strategic cargo to Afghanistan under Pak-Afghan Transit Trade (PATT) has resumed after witnessing over a month-long suspension, Pakistan Today learnt Monday.
According to importers and transporters, at least 10,000, Afghanistan-bound TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), carrying commercial and non-commercial cargo, were stuck up at the country's seaports.
The supply of goods to the neighbouring landlocked country had come to a complete

ISLAMABAD - Two more Pakistani banks have signed on to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Trade Finance Program (TFP) which should make it easier for companies to import critical goods into the country and export other products.
The participation of NIB Bank and Soneri Bank in the TFP means there are now 13 Pakistani banks signed up to the programme. The TFP provides finance and guarantees through banks to support trade transactions in developing countries. A statement issued by

KARACHI - The next meeting of World Trade Organisation (WTO) will be the last resort in a bid to secure approval for unilateral trade concessions proposed by European Union (EU) for Pakistan. The EU, which has failed to convince members, especially India, which are in opposition to the provision of the facility to Pakistan after the devastation wreaked by the summer floods across the country, will seek the waiver in WTO rules during a meeting of the organisation to be held in May

KARACHI - China has refused the grant of trade concessions on almost 268 export products to Pakistan. Islamabad had proposed concessions in order to minimise the huge trade deficit. Rejecting Pakistan's demands, China explicitly said that similar concessions could only be given to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), sources told Pakistan Today. China, last year, granted duty free access on 4,762 products to 33 LDCs, majority of which are in Africa. However, at least three are from