Bhopal, August 22:

Pakistani businessmen want India to extend tariff concessions and lift restrictions to enhance trade with Pakistan. They believe that the most favoured nation status (MFN) granted by New Delhi is not enough, a survey has revealed.

Conducted by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 60 Pak businessmen on a visit to India, the su-rvey stated the two countries needed to take more proactive policy initiatives and concessions to take official bilateral trade to the $5 billion mark.

With bilateral trade between India and Pakistan increasing by a significant 76 per cent in the first four months of the current fiscal and Pakistan allowing import of specific goods from India through the Wagah border, Pakistan businessmen want more.

As many as 90 per cent of the respondents said MFN status granted by India to Pakistan was not sufficient to promote balanced bilateral trade. But three out of five respondents opposed the grant of MFN status by Pakistan to India, stating that some Pakistani industrial sectors could not compete with the highly subsidised Indian industry.

According to them, higher tariff rates in India were making Pakistani exports uncompetitive. The invisible barriers in India are high tariffs, import bans and licences, quotas, restrictions through state monopolies and inter-provincial movement of goods and certification requirements.