Historically, trade and commerce have propelled the wheel of human civilization. People have traded goods and commodities in order to enjoy a prosperous and satisfied life. However the concept of competitiveness and the philosophy of international trade can be traced back to the beginning of industrial revolution started from Great Britain which later spread to other regions of the world. In 17th
century, Adam Smith presented the idea of specialization through division of labor, availability of financial capital to free agent called capitalists or entrepreneurs. Last three decades witnessed the rapid emergence of Asian and South American emerging economies which is further supported by growing trade among new regional economic grouping among emerging markets. Therefore in order to respond to changing dynamics in international trade and investments, the WTO was established in 1995. The new multilateral trading system advocated primarily to the rationalization of rules of international trade, commerce and tariffs across the globe. More recently there has been a growing census among global leaders, economists and industry to harmonize tariffs, customs across the globe and once implemented, it’s in the benefits of both advanced and emerging markets. The WTO regime created new structural dynamics of global competition and prosperity. In this view Pakistan need to respond the challenges and opportunities of global free trade and investment policies. To promote specialization, competition, competitive advantage and national competitiveness as strategy to integrate into global trade, investments and technology transfer opportunities, UMT proposes the establishment of “Institute of Trade and Competitiveness” (ITC).
