Opinion: Think Bigger on Trade with Pakistan

The Washington Post published CGD senior fellow Kim Elliott's letter to the editor on U.S/Pakistan trade.

Think Bigger on Trade with Pakistan
Monday, August 2, 2010; A12

Regarding the July 26 editorial "Stalled help for Pakistan" and David Ignatius's July 15 column, "A gridlock to cheer al-Qaeda":

I share the frustration with congressional inaction and the desire to expand trade with Pakistan. Unfortunately, the economic opportunities created by the Senate and House versions of the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones bill would be minimal.

The bills exclude roughly half of Pakistani exports, including those that bear the highest tariffs in the U.S. market. The bills restrict the benefit to remote tribal areas, which lack reliable roads and electricity. We wouldn't try to decrease poverty in Mexico by lowering tariffs on ice cubes from Juarez, so why are we trying to decrease poverty in Pakistan by targeting uncompetitive goods in uncompetitive regions?

Rather than passing this legislation, Congress should craft and pass a bill that extends duty-free access to the U.S. market for all products from all regions of Pakistan. Research at the Center for Global Development shows that doing this would have only a tiny impact on U.S. jobs. Surely, creating jobs and economic opportunities anywhere and everywhere in Pakistan serves America's vital national interests.

Kimberly Elliott, Washington
The writer is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.