T HIS refers to your editorial `Trade deficit grows` (March 14). The bottomline is that the countryhas been turnedintoa consumer market for foreign goods instead of becoming a producer-nation.
While plummeting exports and burgeoning imports are going to cause a record trade deficit this year, the persistent large trade imbalance during the past four years cannot be justified on account of the increased import of machinery for CPEC projects. The government`s liberal import regime is responsible for the surging import bill every year.
The government needs to look inward and augment farm output and revitalise the industrial sector for meeting local demand and generating exportable surplus.
To echo US President Donald Trump`s words, which fit us, focus should be on `Pakistan first`. The PML-N`s policies since the `90s have been `trade-oriented` rather than `production-oriented`. Whenever the PML-N has been in power, the country hasmissed on the economic f ront while the economies of the regional countries have been thriving.
