PM to chair new Trade Facilitation Board

Business Recorder reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a new Trade Facilitation Board on Thursday, signalling that the state now treats trade facilitation as a higher institutional concern. The decision was taken at a meeting in Islamabad under the premier's chairmanship, according to an official statement.

The board will be chaired by the premier and will take decisions on every non-tariff issue touching cross-border commerce while also working to strengthen the full supply chain. It is also tasked with drawing up a trade promotion roadmap and devising plans linked to the Trade Facilitation Index and its monitoring. Separately, he ordered emergency action to strengthen port operations and to create several working groups, which will cover port capacity, coordination between departments, regulatory compliance, pre-arrival clearance and the involvement of smaller firms in global trade.

Authorities were told to make the handling, clearance and movement of cargo at ports simpler for importers and exporters, and to provide them with the widest possible facilities. According to the briefing, port charges have come down under reforms still underway and port usage has improved markedly. Goods declarations can now be submitted with increasing ease before a vessel reaches port.