CSS 2008 Solved Current Affairs Past Papers | Potential Challenges Pakistan is Facing in the WTO Regime
The following question of CSS Current Affairs 2008 is solved by Sir Ammar Hashmi, the best Current Affairs Coach, on the guided pattern of Sir Syed Kazim Ali, which he taught to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Question breakdown
This question has one part: the challenges Pakistan faces in the WTO regime.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-A bird’s eye view of the WTO and Pakistan
3-Challenges Pakistan is facing in the WTO Regime
- ✓Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers
Case Study: The EU’s GSP+ Scheme imposed stringent conditions on trade for Pakistan, resulting in a tariff rate of 10.2% for Pakistan, compared to the average of 6.4%.
- ✓Decrepit Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)
Case Study: Pfizer’s dispute with Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industries over generic medicines highlights Pakistan’s 84th rank in the Global Innovation Index, indicating a struggle to enforce Intellectual Property Rights.
- ✓Inefficient Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures
Case Study: The EU rejected Pakistan’s rice exports because it contained aflatoxin, making Pakistan face SPS barriers, as Pakistan lies below the standard level.
- ✓Lack of Trade Facilitation
Case Study: According to the World Bank, Pakistan ranks 108th in the World Bank’s Trading Across Borders index, with an average clearance time exceeding 200 hours, as observed at the Karachi port.
- ✓Trade Disputes with Neighbours
Case Study: Pakistan, being unable to resolve its disputes with its neighbours, such as India, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, makes it harder for Pakistan to trade. There are currently 14 disputes, with a 43% success rate in resolving them.
4-Critical Analysis
5-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Globalization and worldwide competition have put considerable pressure on developing and developed countries to progress socially, culturally, politically, and, most importantly, economically. Although the pressure was on all nations, only a few took advantage of it and made their way into the list of prosperous nations. Unfortunately, Pakistan is among the nations that have failed to achieve economic prosperity. Despite being a trade partner of many countries and a member of the WTO, Pakistan has not yet achieved the desired benefits. The reasons behind this are multifaceted: tariff and non-tariff barriers, poor compliance with WTO standards, inadequate sanitary measures, and outdated and inefficient trade facilitation.
A Bird’s Eye View of the WTO and Pakistan
The World Trade Organization, the only intergovernmental organization in the world that deals with trade among nations, was established in 1995 and has around 166 members. It supervises approximately ninety-eight percent of the world’s trade. It is located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was established to administer trade agreements among nations, facilitate trade, and develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for trade. Since its establishment, Pakistan has been a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Moreover, Pakistan also became the 51st member to ratify the TFA in 2017. Also, Pakistan provides MFN (most-favoured nations) treatment to all members except India and Israel.
Challenges Pakistan Is Facing in the WTO Regime
- ✓Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers
To begin with, Pakistan’s foremost challenges are tariff and non-tariff barriers in international markets. The EU’s Generalized System of Preference (GSP+) scheme puts stringent conditions on Pakistan’s exports. All other countries face tariffs averaging only 6.4%, while Pakistan has to pay a 10.2% tariff. This difference indicates that, unlike its competitors, Pakistan’s exports are less attractive and cost-effective, which negatively impacts Pakistan’s exports and trade. In contrast, other nations can easily export their goods.
- ✓Decrepit Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)
Second, Pakistan has also been failing to enforce Intellectual Property Rights, making Pakistan’s exports less competitive. For example, Pfizer’s dispute with Pakistan’s pharmaceutical companies over generic medicine is one of the significant examples of when Pakistan failed to enforce IPRs successfully. As a result, Pakistan ranked 84th in the 2022 Global Innovation Index. These rankings and disputes suggest that Pakistan has been unable to effectively enforce intellectual property rights.
- ✓Inefficient Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures
Third, Pakistan faces another challenge in the form of SPS barriers, which it has been struggling with due to inadequate standards. This is evident in the case of Pakistan’s rice exports being rejected by the EU because they contained aflatoxin. Moreover, as per the WTO report, Pakistan’s SPS compliance rate is 64%, while the average rate is 75%. This shows Pakistan’s inefficiency in raising the quality of its exports to compete in the international market.
- ✓Lack of Trade Facilitation
Fourth, Pakistan is also hindered by the complexities of trade facilitation processes. This, in turn, has led to increased transaction costs and time. For instance, the congestion and delays at the Karachi port during ship clearance indicate that Pakistan also struggles in this aspect. According to World Bank data, Pakistan ranks 108th in the World Bank’s “Trading Across Borders” index, with an average time of over 200 hours. All these arguments suggest that Pakistan should address these issues.
- ✓Trade Disputes with Neighbours
Last, Pakistan’s trade and exports have been overshadowed by its inability to resolve trade disputes with its neighbouring nations. For example, India and Pakistan have been in a dispute over textile exports. The same is true for Afghanistan and Bangladesh. As reported by the WTO, Pakistan has disputes with 14 countries, with a success rate of only 43 percent in resolving them. Considering all the above facts and figures, it is clear that Pakistan faces a myriad of challenges.
Critical analysis
Critically, it can be seen from the above statements that Pakistan stands in the dark water in terms of its trade under the WTO regime. All these challenges did not emerge overnight; instead, several causes and factors contributed to Pakistan’s path. For instance, Pakistan’s lack of compliance with the standard protocols and safety measures, poor quality of exports, and lack of competitive products have collectively led to this misery. The important thing now is to tackle and solve the issue for good. It is now essential to involve stakeholders and develop policies to address the issue thoroughly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is understood that Pakistan’s status in the WTO regime has not been satisfactory, as the organization has not been satisfied with Pakistan’s export quality, compliance, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Due to the above reasons, the WTO has imposed multiple tariffs and export restrictions on Pakistan, which has further deteriorated Pakistan’s trade. This sounds like an alarm warning for Pakistan. Keeping in view the above arguments, it becomes a compulsion for Pakistan’s government to frame policies that aim to improve export quality, enhance compliance with WTO standards, and resolve disputes with its neighbouring states are critical in today’s global village.
CSS Solved Past Papers’ Essays
Looking for the last ten years of CSS and PMS Solved Essays and want to know how Sir Kazim’s students write and score the highest marks in the essays’ papers? Then, click on the CSS Solved Essays to start reading them.
CSS Solved Essays
CSS Solved General Science & Ability Past Papers
Want to read the last ten years’ General Science & Ability Solved Past Papers to learn how to attempt them and to score high? Let’s click on the link below to read them all freely. All past papers have been solved by Pakistan’s top CSS GSA coach having the highest score of their students.
General Science & Ability Solved Past Papers
