MoC to launch first National Compliance Centre to facilitate businesses, exports

ISLAMABAD: Almost all of us have heard that Pakistani businesses are not competitive globally because of the lack of implementation of the international standards. Even businessmen desire a one window solution to this problem. As desired by the industry, traders and exporters, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) is going to formally launch the first ever National Compliance Centre (NCC), which is aimed at ensuring international compliance requirements and facilitate the manufacturers, exporters, and certification agencies through information sharing and training/capacity building.

According to official sources the ministry is going to launch the center on April 18, 2023.

As per details, the proposed National Compliance Centre (NCC) will have a federal-level office with provincial secretariats to ensure coordination at the national level. The NCC will have an organizational structure consisting of eight compliance clusters, and additional clusters may be established in the future as needed.

The clusters will focus on various areas of compliance, such as human rights, labor rights, climate change, governance and democracy, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, quality assurance standards, sustainability, traceability for textiles, digital trade/e-Commerce, competition, and services sectors.

The NCC will act as a repository of all international compliance requirements and develop a user-friendly online database and other resources to assist businesses, industries, agricultural producers, public and private sector stakeholders, and other entities to understand and comply with international regulatory requirements.

The NCC will also hold regular outreach activities, including workshops and training, to build the capacity of stakeholders regarding compliance regimes and disseminate relevant information through various means.

Furthermore, the NCC will liaise with concerned institutions/agencies/organizations (international or local) for information sharing, partnering in awareness campaigns, and developing regional/sectoral/product-specific compliance solutions. The NCC will also hold regular dialogues between public and private sector stakeholders to encourage the adoption of compliance regimes and improve competitiveness at the firm level.

The NCC will review production processes and support the adoption of international best practices through trade policy measures. The NCC will also assist businesses, associations, industries, and agricultural producers in adopting international best practices through technical experts hired on a short to medium-term basis. Additionally, the NCC will assist small and medium-sized enterprises in developing business strategies for the adoption of international compliance requirements and facilitate access to international certifying bodies for domestic businesses, associations, industries, and agricultural producers.

It may be added that the multilateral trading system brought through the advent of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by binding tariffs is being eroded by the imposition of non-tariff barriers. Importing countries under the guise of meeting specific regulatory, environmental, social, health, and quality compliances impose these barriers. Pakistani manufacturers and exporters often face such unforeseen requirements, especially when exporting to developed countries and countries forming various Economic Blocs, Customs Unions, Free Trade Areas, etc. In most instances, it adds to the cost for Pakistani manufacturers. There was a need to constantly upgrade our production processes, making them climate-friendly, sustainable, and more inclusive especially in terms of sharing benefits from international trade agreements and market access concessions with those involved in the supply chain at all levels.