Suchergebnisse

Pakistan's import trade in the private sector is regulated by
an elaborate licensing system. It is complex in its structure and
detailed in its operation. The structural complexity of the system
arises from the simultaneous operation of different types of licences
which seek to regulate the import sector in microscopic detail. It
regulates the volume of imports, the composition of imports, and, in
certain cases, even the sources of imports. This elaborate system is
administered by the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports (CCI&E),
in the Ministry of Commerce, who is the principal licensing authority in
the country. His task is to assess import needs and then to allocate
scarce foreign-exchange resources earmarked for the private sector. In
arriving at his decisions he is guided, on the one hand, by the latest
market intelligence reports regarding the price trends of imported
commodities as the indicators of what the market actually needs, and on
the other hand, by official views of what the market should need, and in
what proportion, to conform to the broader scheme of ensuring an optimal
allocation of domestic resources. The formulation of the semi-annual
Import Policy, which is the sum-total of all these varied and complex
decisions, is, therefore, a momentous undertaking, and occupies a
central position in the broader strategy of economic planning.

The purpose of this study is to examine Pakistan's
foreign-trade problems and policies in the context of the wider question
of a rational allocation of domestic resources. It will be argued that
measures taken in Pakistan to regulate the flow of imports and exports
have led to a pattern of resource allocation which may aggravate the
balance-of-payments problem. The difficulty is mainly attributable to
the fact that foreign economic policies and policy measures taken to
regulate the domestic economy have often been at cross-purposes. For
instance, whereas the domestic .investment policy has aimed at promoting
the most economical use of scarce investment resources, the licensing
system has provided strong incentive for a wasteful use of these
resources by encouraging import substitution even where the country may
have a long-run comparative disadvantage. While domestic policy has
aimed at raising the marginal rate of savings, the policy of protecting
consumption goods, particularly the nonessential ones, has tended to
liberalize consumption.

During the last three months the short life of the London Daily Recorder was discussed and analyzed. At the end of March it changed back to weekly appearance and had to be sold some weeks later. The General Assembly of the International Press Institute met for the third time (in Vienna). Freedom of the press and the internal organization of the institute were main topics. In Bordeaux the International Federation of Journalists met for the second time. Lord Camrose (Berry), one of the British "Press Lords," died in June.

During the last quarter of the year the new London daily, the Recorder, appeared in the streets. In content and form it does not differ much from other London newspapers. According to latest reports the Recorder is still losing money. The British government issued a "White Paper" on commercial TV. It was favorably received by the House of Commons. In Germany, government plans for a ministry of information caused great alarm in the press and among political parties. Memories of Nazi information ministries were still fresh. The plan was abandoned.

The International Press Institute organized a meeting of French and German editors in Strasbourg. The following communique was approved unanimously: The press in both Germany and France is called on to achieve a great task in eliminating misunderstandings and prejudices and furthering mutual understanding between the two peoples. In pursuit of these aims the press must bring to its work objectivity, dignity and an awareness of the responsibilities involved. Journalists taking part in the meeting at Strasbourg pledge themselves in a "gentleman's agreement" to observe these principles in their newspapers.

Compiled by the Institute for Press Science at the University of Amsterdam The European press gave a great deal of attention to the start of commercial television in England during this period. The BBC and the British press watched with especial interest to see whether the ITA (Independent Television Authority) would eat into their advertising revenue. In France Pierre Mendés-France's weekly, l'Exprès, has been turned into a daily (l'Exprès-Matin) under the editorship of 31-year-old Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and two of his political friends suddenly dismissed their action against Der Spiegel, the German equivalent of Life magazine. The libel suit had been dragging on for two years, and had been brought because Der Spiegel had accused the Chancellor and his friends of selling important German documents to the French. Colombia's strong man Rojas Pinilla suppressed El Tiempo, possibly the greatest liberal voice of truth south of the border since the suppression of La Prensa.

Several editorials and special articles were written during this period on the London newspaper strike and the rights and obligations of management and labor in the newspaper business. Some interest was also shown in the effects of the strike on the London public and in the attitudes of those mass media not hit by the strike. In Copenhagen the International Press Institute held its fourth general assembly. Among the topics discussed were the effect of television news on the press; government pressures on the press; governmental public relations; editing foreign news for the general reader; and the implications of the London newspaper strike. Gazette, a quarterly journal devoted to the science of the press, appeared in Amsterdam. Its second issue was edited by Kurt Baschwitz, Amsterdam, and Siegfried Frey, Zürich.

This quarter has seen the celebration of several newspaper anniversaries. Among them are the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (175 years), El Comercio of Ecuador (50 years), the Daily Herald (25 years), and the Schweizerische Depeschen Agentur (60 years). In Germany the Neue Zeitung, published by the U. S. High Commissioner, folded on January 30. Attempts to continue publishing with German capital failed. The general conference of UNESCO, held at Montevideo, has adopted a resolution calling for plans to coordinate and stimulate the study of the science of the press.