Pakistan-India Trade:

Nisha Taneja
only the date of expiry needs to be mentioned on processed food items.
Interestingly, Pakistan has a similar requirement for imports of processed
food items—the only difference being that the requirement of shelf life
is 50 percent at the time of import.
The above analysis suggests that India should review and simplify
procedures for all products, especially for those requiring urgent attention—such
as food and agricultural products, processed foods, and
pharmaceutical products. To improve transparency, India should notify
all measures to the WTO. In order to address the issue of non-acceptance
of testing and certification, India should enter into Equivalence
Agreements and Mutual Recognition Agreements with Pakistan. The
former creates a framework for recognition of different but equivalent
measures to achieve international standards. With the latter, countries
agree to mutually accept the results of one another’s conformity assessment
procedures. And most importantly, infrastructure constraints
should be addressed so that they do not restrict trade.
Non-tariff barriers were a central issue in the commerce secretarylevel
talks. To address non-tariff barriers, a Joint Working Group was set
up. Recognizing that there was a lack of awareness about the regulatory
regimes on both sides, India and Pakistan adopted a unique and simple
method to create awareness amongst Pakistani government officials and
businesspersons about their regulatory regimes. The two countries arranged
business-to-business and government-to-business interactions to
address information gaps on the regulatory regimes (Taneja 2011).
In addition to the above barriers, there are other barriers that Indian
and Pakistani traders have faced in accessing each other’s markets. It has
been pointed out that on grounds of security, excessive checks are carried
out on consignments imported from Pakistan (Taneja 2007). Fortunately,
the new infrastructure set up at the Attari/Wagah border crossing provides
for adequate scanning equipment so that traders are not unduly harassed.
Visas
One major pending issue is related to visa restrictions. Granting cityspecific
visas; the requirement of police reporting on arrival and before
departure; the requirement of exit from the port of entry; and delays in
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