Overview
- At the center of the push is a Customs, Trade, Tariffs and Dumping group chaired by Muhammad Ali Tabba, described as the core vehicle for clearing export and trade bottlenecks.
- The eight panels span export development, customs and tariffs, income tax, railways, ports, industrialisation, agriculture and energy, with chairs including Musadaq Zulqarnain, Shahzad Saleem, Ziad Bashir and Saquib Sherazi.
- Each group has been ordered to produce concrete measures with deliverables and timelines and to present outcomes to the prime minister at the next meeting.
- Industry leaders told the government that policy-driven costs have made exporting unviable, citing a more than 300% jump in gas tariffs in recent years, a carbon levy, a 10% duty on yarn and greige fabric, delayed sales tax refunds and an overvalued rupee.
- Ports operating mainly as feeder terminals were flagged for adding 7–10 days to shipping and causing estimated annual losses of $2–3 billion, with senior FBR and Commerce officials named to foster cross-agency solutions.