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'Clinton govt

working to forge

trade links

with Pakistan'

WASHINGTON: A senior official of the Clinton Administration has warned that missed opportunities for U.S. companies to undertake business and investment in Pakistan would allow their European and Japanese competitors to fill the gap.

What is going on in South Asia is going on all over the world," Raymond E. Vickery, Assistant Secretary for Trade Development said while testifying before the U.S. House Committee on International Relations which held joint hearing of the House Sub-committee on Asia and the Pacific and the Sub-committee on International Economic Policy and Trade. The United States cannot afford to slacken its export promotion efforts and advocacy for U.S. companies. "If we do, we are banding sales and jobs to our competitors. Opportunities often present themselves only once," he added.

Vickery said because of America's long history of "limited engagement and frictions" with most of South Asia, the region has often been regarded as one of missed opportunities. The present administration, he said, has made progress in putting this pattern behind though much work remains to be done.

Vickery said the Clinton administration is working to strengthen commercial ties with Pakistan whose economic liberalization programme has created new and significant opportunities for commercial cooperation.

"An important step in the process of building closer commercial ties would be to make it possible for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Trade and Development Agency (TDA) to operate in Pakistan."

OPIC and TDA cover is regarded by US private investors as an essential part of their foreign investment and trade to make it competitive and profitable. Pressler sanctions had barred such cover in Pakistan which has now been revived by the Brown Amendment.

The US business and investment firms who have signed MOU's for about $ 12 billion investment in Pakistan's energy and communication sectors, are awaiting executive orders implementing the Brown Amendment.

Vickery said the presence of these agencies would give added confidence to companies in what can be a difficult business environment, it would remove some of the disadvantages U.S. companies face in competing with firms from third countries.

"And from perspective of the Government of Pakistan, I believe it would be viewed positively, and thus would contribute to our objective of engagement with that government," he observed.

"Needless to say that we are not alone in having discovered the new opportunities in the region, "Vickery observed adding: "Our competitors are increasingly active and the opportunities we miss often fall into the hands of a German, Italian or Japanese firm."

As an example, Vickery said, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien led "Team Canada" to Pakistan and India in January last and Prime Minister Bhutto announced contracts for Canadian companies valued at a total of $ 2 billion in 19 public and private projects.

In this context he also referred to Prime Minister Bhutto's visit to Japan the same month and said she came back with some $ 765 million worth of foreign aid loans and grants, most of which will produce exports and jobs for Japan.

Vickery said Pakistan has adopted more market-oriented economic policies and its turning to U.S. companies and technology for assistance in modernizing industry and expanding infrastructure. It has reduced tariffs, made its currency convertible on trade account and taken steps to attract foreign investors in recent years.

He said former Commerce Secretary late Ron Brown who died in a plane crash early this month, had planned to visit Pakistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The visit originally scheduled for January was rescheduled for May in view of government shut down in U.S. over the budget controversy with the Congress.

He said the Commerce Department did considerable preparatory work on initiatives to encourage commercial cooperation in environmental projects and to facilitate small and medium firms to enter the Pakistani market.

"We also were working with U.S. companies and Pakistani officials to ensure that some important business deals could be signed during the visit, "Vickery said adding that an agreement was also planned to launch a bilateral forum to spur business development activities and discuss ways that the two governments could facilitate commerce between them.

He regretted that the postponement of the visit due to the shutdown forfeited opportunities to provide advocacy at the highest levels of government that could have cleared the hurdles for a number of U.S. companies 'bids and project proposals and led to the resolution of market access problems. The momentum was lost.

Vickery, however, hoped that the various initiatives for commercial cooperation - a business forum to advance private sector dialogue with Pakistan and agreement with both Pakistan and India to advance environmental cooperation and to facilitate small and medium sized companies -- may be signed at a later date.

"But lost momentum and time cannot be recouped," he remarked.-APP