FPCCI flags TORs overhaul as threat to district chambers, warns of fallout for SMEs and exports

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged lawmakers to reconsider proposed amendments to the Trade Organization Rules 2013, warning the changes could dismantle district chambers and disrupt local business ecosystems.

FPCCI Senior Vice President Saquib Fayyaz Magoon said restricting trade bodies to municipal city boundaries would exclude industrial estates, SME clusters in tehsils and rural export-oriented businesses from representation, undermining years of institutional development and hurting local economies. He said chambers served as the main collective platforms for policy advocacy and business engagement with the government.

FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh said the proposed legislation had alarmed the business community nationwide, arguing that chambers were often the last institutional channel for businesses to raise concerns amid internal and external trade pressures. He warned that eliminating district-level chambers would weaken institutional structures and devastate district economies.

Sheikh said limiting trade organisations could exclude export-oriented firms from representation and demoralise the private sector, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises and women-led businesses. He added that district chambers played a critical role in shaping local economic activity and contributing to national growth.

FPCCI leaders cautioned that abrupt changes to the existing framework could lead to the closure of multiple representative trade bodies and urged parliamentarians to ensure continuity of district chambers in the amended rules.