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Nisha Taneja<br />
2006, <strong>Pakistan</strong> increased the positive list further to 1,075 items. And<br />
in yet another historic move, <strong>India</strong>n and <strong>Pakistan</strong>i trucks in 2007 were<br />
allowed to unload cargo on each other’s territory, thereby ending the<br />
antiquated practice of porters unloading goods from trucks and carrying<br />
them across the border as head-loads. Finally, in 2009, the positive list<br />
was increased to 1,934 items (Taneja, Prakash, and Kalita 2011).<br />
An examination of trade trends between <strong>India</strong> and <strong>Pakistan</strong> (Figure<br />
1) reveals that in the period between 2004–05 and 2007–08, when a<br />
number of positive measures were undertaken, trade more than tripled<br />
from $616 million to $2.2 billion (in this paper, all dollar figures refer<br />
to U.S. dollars). This occurred even with the politically sensitive events<br />
during this period. In 2008–09, following the Mumbai terror attacks<br />
and the global recession, bilateral trade fell to $1.8 billion—but then<br />
trended upward again, reaching a total of $2.6 billion in 2010–11. The<br />
high trade growth in the last couple of years can possibly be attributed<br />
not only to the post-recession recovery, but also to the substantial additions<br />
to the positive list.<br />
Clearly, the two countries had established a track record of undertaking<br />
trade-facilitating measures well before 2011—even in the after-<br />
figure 1: india-<strong>Pakistan</strong> Bilateral <strong>Trade</strong> (us$ Million)<br />
3,000<br />
2,500<br />
2,000<br />
1,500<br />
1,000<br />
500<br />
0<br />
2000–<br />
2001<br />
2001–<br />
2002<br />
Cross-border truck movement allowed<br />
Parliament<br />
Samjhauta blast<br />
attack<br />
Positive list 1075 items<br />
Rail & Maritime Protocol amended<br />
air routes<br />
closed<br />
Road route opened<br />
Rail & air routes open<br />
Positive list 767 items<br />
2002–<br />
2003<br />
2003–<br />
2004<br />
2004–<br />
2005<br />
Source: Directorate General of Foreign <strong>Trade</strong>, Ministry of Commerce, government of <strong>India</strong>.<br />
| 76 |<br />
2005–<br />
2006<br />
2006–<br />
2007<br />
2007–<br />
2008<br />
Mumbai<br />
attacks<br />
2008–<br />
2009<br />
Positive list<br />
1934 items<br />
2009–<br />
2010<br />
2010–<br />
2011
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