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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 failed to sign any FTA’s in the last 5 years
Although the government of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) started the negotiations on various trade agreements including the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with a number of countries, it could not conclude any such agreement in the past five years.
Pakistan, Iran enter final phase of free trade agreement
Ministry of Commerce seeks comprehensive analysis of the agreement; invites request for proposal to conduct research study on Pak-Iran trade ties.
Pakistan, China agree on terms of FTA Phase II
According to official documents, the agreed liberalisation level of 90 percent, tariff lines and trade value have been slashed to 75 percent of tariff lines for both countries and some new terms have also been added to the agreement.
‘Pakistan, China expected to sign revised FTA this year’
Pakistan and China are expected to sign the revised bilateral free trade agreement anytime during this year as the two sided are currently deliberating on the subject, Commerce Minister Pervez Malik said on Tuesday.
Pak-Thai FTA – opportunity or threat?
Pakistan has had an increasing trade deficit with Thailand; for the period 8MFY18 the trade deficit has increased by 44 percent YoY as increases in imports from Thailand greatly outweigh rise in exports. In monetary terms, the trade deficit of 8MFY18 at $611 million is almost at par with FY16’s annual deficit, indicating the speed at which it is growing.
Why we don’t need an FTA with China
Pakistan and China started negotiations on the second phase of the Pak-China FTA in 2011. So far, 10th meetings have been held in this regard. China was not willing to offer Pakistan substantial market access on items of Islamabad’s interest.
FTA with China to hurt manufacturing sector: traders
In Pakistan, businessmen and investors are expressing concerns over free trade agreement (FTA) with China claiming that would hurt the manufacturing sector.
FTA with China delayed due to industry concerns
Pakistan’s federal government has deferred second phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China on the demand of the business community.
Pak-Thai FTA likely to be signed this year
Pakistan and Thai governments are actively engaged in talks on free trade agreement (FTA) and with signing of the FTA, the bilateral trade will instantly boost as there is a huge potential on the both sides.
Pak-China FTA II talks remain indecisive
Pakistan and China on Monday failed to reach a breakthrough on second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Islamabad as talks between two countries ended inconclusively.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce