PTI government to revise FTAs with major countries, ink new deals for export growth
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ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Advisor Abdul Razak Dawood has revealed to renegotiate Free Trade Agreements with the existing countries besides inking new FTAs.
He said that Pakistan was depending on textiles for exports but its share in the international market was coming down. ------------------------------
He said that a concept note of industrial policy has been prepared and the new industrial policy will promote other industries including engineering, chemical, information technology and agriculture to diversify exports.
He further said that the new industrial policy would support strategic industries and strengthen import substitution industries. He added that the government has planned to increase exports by up to $50-$150 billion by facilitating export-oriented industries.
He mentioned that currently Pakistan has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with five countries. However, he believes that except for the FTA with Sri Lanka, all FTAs were unfavorable for Pakistan.
To resolve this imbalance, the government is working to revise the FTAs with all countries, and that the second phase of FTA with China would be completed by June 2019. He said the government was in discussion with many countries including China, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Turkey to get more market access for Pakistani products. Indonesia has provided zero-rated market access to Pakistan on 20 items.
