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  1. Negotiations

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, Thailand to begin dialogue on FTA, says minister
12-May-2015
Pakistan and Thailand will start dialogue on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) soon as Cabinet of Thailand has agreed allowing negotiations for FTA with Pakistan.
Poultry industry calls for review of FTAs
13-Apr-2015 Dawn
The Pakistan Poultry Associa­tion has urged Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir to review the free trade agreements that are hurting more than helping the country.
China offers enhanced access for agri produce
9-Apr-2015 The Nation
Beijing and Islamabad are negotiating their FTA afresh following reservations from Pakistani industry that the previous agreement was unbalanced towards China.
Pakistan refuses to accept US model on investment treaty
14-Mar-2015 The News
Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan said that Pakistan had refused to accept US model on Bilateral Investment Treaty.
Pakistan rejects US draft of investment treaty
13-Mar-2015 Express Tribune
Pakistan has rejected the United States’ proposed draft of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between the two countries, saying the acceptance of the US template would carry ‘dangerous obligations’ for the country.
Focus on private sector: Washington rules out trade agreement with Islamabad
11-Mar-2015 Express Tribune
US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker finally admitted publicly that the Obama administration no longer has the ability to get legislative approval for any trade agreements with Pakistan, and hence is focusing on getting more US businesses to invest in Pakistan.
New bilateral investment treaty model
2-Mar-2015 Dawn
Pakistan’s Board of Investment is working on Pakistan’s own template of a bilateral investment treaty, which will replace previous treaties and serve as basis for new ones.
Pakistan, Turkey to finalise free trade deal
18-Feb-2015 Express Tribune
Pakistan and Turkey on Tuesday agreed to finalise a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after their leaders announced that the two countries are embarking on fresh trade liberalisation initiatives.
Pakistan: Govt in process of signing FTAs with ASEANs
17-Feb-2015 Daily Times
Pakistan’s National Assembly was informed that the government is in process to ink Free Trade Agreement–II with China and also efforts were in process to sign Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN countries.
Dar briefed on BIT regime
16-Feb-2015 The News
Pakistan Finance minister says the government will review its existing bilateral investment treaties and develop a template for future ones.

    Links

  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce