KARACHI, May 22: Nat-ional Tariff Commission (NTC) chairman Prince Abbas Khan said on Tuesday that there was an urgent need to frame a well-defined policy on tariff protection of the domestic industry.

Speaking at a seminar, jointly organised by the NTC and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), he further stated that any protective measure undertaken by the government should have a timeframe.

Prince Abbas Khan stressed the need for having a standard policy to phase out protections.

The seminar, titled legal and procedural aspects of trade defence laws, attracted a large number of business and industry leaders.

Acting president of FPCCI, Sheikh Shakil Ahmed Dhingra, appreciated the role played by NTC, but said there was still room for improvement to make the institution more effective.

The NTC team informed the participants that WTO rules provide protection to domestic industry against unfair practices, such as dumping and subsidies.

Under Pakistan’s trade defence laws, NTC is empowered to impose anti-dumping or anti-countervailing duties if it is established that dumped or subsidised imports have caused material injury to the domestic industry.

A number of questions were also raised relating to smuggling on the western border, trade liberalisation with India, tariff rationalisation and industrial lobbies.