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Pakistan

The government of Pakistan is a keen pursuer of bilateral trade and investment agreements. It has a full FTA with Sri Lanka (2005), a PTA with Iran (2004) and Mauritius (2007), Early Harvest Schemes with China (2005) and Malaysia (2007), and is part of both ECOTA and SAFTA. It is in various stages of FTA talks, or preparations for talks, with Brunei, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco, Singapore, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Turkey and Russia (among others). In July 2006, it signed a Framework Agreement on Trade with Mercosur.

Negotiations on a US-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty, as a step towards a US-Pakistan FTA, have been quite controversial and are unconcluded. After talks restarted in mid-2010, a draft US-Pakistan BIT was sent for approval to Pakistan’s Cabinet in April 2012. The Pakistani government has already signed almost 50 BITs with other countries. In 2011 Germany ratified a BIT with Pakistan.

On a wider scale, there is talk of possible Pakistani FTAs with Afghanistan, Algeria, the EU, Japan, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Asian Development Bank/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0


Pakistan, China to hold 8th round of FTA talks next week
Pakistan and China will hold the eighth round of their Free Trade Agreement talks in Beijing, with both sides having failed to strike an agreement over the second phase of duty reductions.
FTAs, PTAs need to be revisited
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) recommended the government to revisit and negotiate anew the existing Free Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements
Pakistan, GCC plan to start third round of FTA talks
Pakistan is committed to finalising a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in a bid to step up trade volumes between the two sides
Pak-Turkey’s 7th FTA talks by August end
The seventh round of negotiations on free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Turkey would be held in Turkey to finalise the agreement
Pak, Thailand FTA to be signed on Aug 22
Pakistan and Thailand Free Trade Agreement will be signed on August 22, for enhancing the bilateral trade between two countries - Pak official.
7th round of Pak-Turkey FTA talks milestone to reach final agreement
Pakistan and Turkey had discussed the specific sectors including textile sector during the negotiation. The two sides had exchanged provisional lists for a final agreement in round of negotiation
Pakistan rejects proposal to ink 2nd free trade agreement with China
In order to reduce the fast-growing trade deficit, Pakistan has rejected the proposal to sign second Free Trade Agreement with China and asked Beijing to give concessions which it gives to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Pak-Turkey FTA talks from June 6
The seventh round of negotiations on free trade agreement between Pakistan and Turkey would be held from June 6-7 in Turkey in order to finalise the agreement.
Pak-Turkey FTA to be signed on Aug 14
Pakistan and Turkey’s free trade agreement (FTA) will be signed on August 14, for enhancing the bilateral trade between two countries.
Iran agrees to make existing trade deal with Pakistan functional
Both sides have decided that there will be no fresh Free Trade Agreement (FTA), rather both sides will later on turn the current Preferential Trade Agreement into FTA.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce