Tariffs & export expansion

NO country has achieved prosperity by relying solely on its domestic markets. The spectacular success of China, despite having a large market of 1.4 billion people, is primarily attributed to its integration into the world economy. In merely three decades, China has become the top exporting nation. Notably, our neighbours India and Bangladesh have also progressed since 1990 by actively participating in the global economy. Vietnam, once a war-shattered country with a lower export level than Pakistan until 1996, exported $371bn of goods, equal to 106 per cent of GDP, in 2022, while Pakistan hardly reached $30bn, or 8pc. Had Pakistan retained its share in the 1990s’ global exports of 0.15pc, it could have generated $50bn by 2024-25. Unfortunately, our global share has slid to an average of 0.08pc in the 2020s. Export earnings of $50bn would have prevented recurring crises and reliance on external borrowing, preserving economic sovereignty.