Economic data
Beyond tariff cuts
PAKISTAN cannot build a competitive industry by protecting it indefinitely. Nor can reducing protection, by itself, turn domestic manufacturers into exporters. Tariffs shape investment decisions, but competitiveness also depends on energy, technology, scale, supply chains, market access, and security. A credible industrial strategy must address them together. Unconditional protection raises prices, blunts incentives to innovate, and rewards selling to a captive home market. Consumers finance inefficiency, and capital chases protected returns rather than export opportunities. Where there