Tariffs: an overlooked test case

Business Recorder argues that Pakistan should assess the results of decades of tariff exemptions before making further changes under the National Tariff Policy 2025-30. The policy plans gradual customs-duty cuts and removal of additional and regulatory duties, aiming to reduce obstacles to exports and improve industrial competitiveness.

The article points to six operational Export Processing Zones, whose combined exports reached $910 million in 2023, around 3.3 percent of Pakistan’s goods exports. It also highlights the Export Facilitation Scheme, launched in July 2021, and says its licences grew from about 800 to 2,000, creating scope to compare beneficiaries with other firms. The writer recommends combining anonymised records held by EPZA, FBR and Pakistan Single Window to examine exports, imported inputs and domestic value addition, while accounting for differences between firms.