The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a 20 percent reduction (233 tariff lines) in sensitive list for South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta) which, according to the Commerce Ministry, will earn goodwill for the country.
Pakistan on Wednesday approved a proposal granting India the status of “most favoured nation” which would pave the way for direct import and export of goods and services. Textile, automobile and auto component trade through the land route with easier tariffs and quota restrictions are a distinct possibility.
President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and King Abdullah of Jordan on Saturday called for an early conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement and holding of the second round of talks soon for this purpose.
As the fifth round of talks on the Pak-US Trade Investment Facilitation Agreement (TIFA) began in Islamabad on Tuesday (20 September), Pakistani delegates have taken a tough stance to demand better trade arrangements with the US.
Pakistan expects to seal Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) with two promising regional groupings to boost the country’s trade performance, Secretary Commerce, Zafar Mahmood has said. “Pakistan is to sign the agreements with ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council,” he said in an interview here following the conclusion of Pakistan Malaysia Business Forum and the meeting of Joint Review Committee on FTA
Thailand will soon launch free-trade negotiations with Pakistan, pursuing its second bilateral pact with a South Asian nation following an existing agreement with India.
Pakistan and Malaysia have agreed to enhance bilateral economic cooperation and explore avenues for joint ventures in a host of sectors, including agriculture, construction and Halal industry. The understanding to “tap full potential of bilateral economic relations” was reached in Kuala Lumpur at the first ever meeting of the Pakistan Malaysia Joint Committee on Review of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Pakistan is ready to double the number of goods it imports from India, but has stopped short of offering full-fledged most-favoured nation, or MFN, status it had promised earlier this year as part of bilateral confidence-building measures.
Sri Lanka has agreed to import its entire basmati rice quota of 6,000 tonnes from Pakistan under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) through the private sector from 2012.
Turkey and Pakistan on Thursday took a leap forward in their bilateral relations and agreed to transform existing historical brotherly relations into tangible economic partnership.
Imports from China have been persistently rising even in the no concession category whereas Pakistan has been able to increase its exports only in the first two categories, reveals a study on Pakistan-China FTA available with The News.
Thai government is focusing on an early meeting of Pak-Thai Joint Trade Commission for early signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Thai Minister, Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs, Mr Nat Pinyo WattanaCheep said this during a meeting with businessmen at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday.
All Pakistan Marble Mining Processing Industry and Exporters Association (APMMPIEA) demanded the government make semi-processed/un-finished tiles, slabs, some marble and granite and onyx products, part of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Tuesday agreed to hold negotiations for reviewing the six-year-old free trade agreement (FTA) which has become an obstacle instead of becoming a tool for liberalisation.
At the conclusion of the 10th session of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Joint Economic Commission on Tuesday the two countries have agreed hold Free Trade Agreement (FTA) review meeting and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations in August 2011 in Colombo.
’Moving forward’ on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Sri Lanka and Pakistan which also goes beyond only trade in goods outlined in the existing bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), into services and investment promotion, will boost trade between both countries, according to Seema Ilahi Baloch, High Commissioner for Pakistan in Sri Lanka.
Although the resolution has compelled India to resume talks with Pakistan, it is not clear whether and how the outcome of these talks will affect the conclusion of the FTA. It is also uncertain whether or not the condition to settle the Kashmir issue with dialogue will be included in the final draft of the EU-India FTA, writes Ahmad Ali Ghouri
Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) will recommend inclusion of more Pakistani items from various sectors in the second phase of free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and China.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday called for an early conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and United States to promote economic activity.
The US was not exactly sorry that Pakistan’s Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan resigned from General Musharraf’s cabinet in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate ‘suspended’ Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, according to a ‘confidential’ US diplomatic cable accessed by Dawn News through WikiLeaks.
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