ISLAMABAD, May 28, 2025: The World Bank has called additional import tariffs in Pakistan a major obstacle to industrial development and exports.
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The global lender has also recommended a reduction in various slabs of import tariffs and the abolition of regulatory and additional customs duties.
In a latest report, the World Bank has said that during the last decade import tariffs, including regulatory and additional customs duties, were hiked by 117 percent. It reduced competition in the market, promoted inefficient industrial strategies, shifted investment to influential groups instead of productive sectors, and affected domestic exports.
The report also said that in the 1990s, Pakistan’s exports were 15 percent of GDP, which decreased to 10 percent in 2024, which is the lowest level in the region.
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The World Bank report recommended a free foreign exchange regime, affordable energy, easy financing, a national regulatory delivery office, implementation of the Investment Act, and improvements in bankruptcy laws to increase exports and investor confidence.
