Free trade: Exports to China grow 320% in first phase

[Umair Nawaz]

Free trade: Exports to China grow 320% in first phase

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have successfully implemented the first phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and during this period exports to China recorded a growth of 320%.

Similarly, imports grew 120%, sources at the Commerce Division said on Monday.

In order to better utilise concessions and address concerns of the domestic industry, the Ministry of Commerce has started negotiations on the second phase of the FTA with China.

According to sources, during the negotiations, the Chinese side has agreed to discuss tariff reduction for the second phase on the perception of less-than-equal reciprocity in favour of Pakistan.

The negotiations will continue in the next fiscal year, with the objective of allaying concerns of the domestic industry.

About the steps taken by the government to further improve trade relations with Afghanistan, the sources said various measures were suggested to facilitate Afghan transit trade through Pakistan.

Furthermore, Pakistan proposed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries and a draft in this regard has been shared with the Afghan side.

In order to liberalise trade with Iran, Pakistan proposed FTA with Iran and a draft text of FTA has been shared with the Iranian authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2015.

 

[Umair Nawaz]

elsewhere.......

Free Trade Agreement: Pakistan, Sri Lanka could enhance trade to $2.7b
By Farhan Zaheer
Published: May 20, 2015
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$316m was the value of Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka in 2013 compared to $154 million in 2004, up 105% in nine years. STOCK IMAGE

KARACHI:
Pakistan and Sri Lanka have the potential to increase bilateral trade over six times from the current $380 million to $2.7 billion by just effectively utilising their Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a study has revealed.

The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), a not-for-profit research-based business advocacy forum that represents Pakistan’s 47 largest businesses, conducted the study titled “An assessment of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement”.

According to the study, despite favourable terms in the FTA and healthy export markets, both countries have failed to improve bilateral trade. “Pakistan and Sri Lanka boast of strong political ties and this makes current low trade volumes more alarming.”

Inability to establish connections between business communities and policies of the two countries are the major problems hindering commerce.

“There is a misconception in both countries about the trade potential because of which neither country views the other as a priority market despite abundance of opportunities,” it noted.

Absence of regular visits of trade delegations and single-country exhibitions has led to weak business links between business communities of the two countries.

One of the major complaints of Pakistani exporters is the lack of interaction with their Sri Lankan counterparts that has affected the identification of more opportunities and strengthening of current partnerships, the study says.

The study recommends frequent exchange of trade delegations and holding of single-country exhibitions to lay the groundwork for stronger trade ties. It also urges the two countries to grant on-arrival visas to facilitate the interaction required to boost trade.

Sri Lanka was the first country with which Pakistan signed FTA in 2002, which came into effect in 2005. The terms of the agreement were comprehensive and granted 100% immediate concession to major Pakistani export goods such as cotton and cement and major Sri Lankan export products such as rubber and coconut products.

Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka grew from $154 million in 2004 to $316 million in 2013, an increase of 105% in nine years. Pakistan only accounted for 1.7% of total Sri Lankan imports from the world in 2013.

On the other hand, Sri Lankan exports to Pakistan grew from $46 million to $63 million, an increase of just 37% during the period. Sri Lanka had only 0.14% share in Pakistani imports from around the world in 2013.

What is worrisome is that both countries are still trading in the same products in which they were dealing prior to the FTA while most tariff lines continue to show zero trade. This is in stark contrast to Sri Lanka’s trade relations with India and China where a significant and fast-paced growth has been achieved.

Trade between Sri Lanka and India grew from just $658 million in 2000 to $3.6 billion in 2013, an increase of 450% in 13 years since the two countries signed the FTA in 2000. With China, bilateral trade also exceeded $3 billion in 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2015.

 

[saadee]

Ab mughay pakka patta chaal gaya hain kay poster Muslim League NAWAZ group ka hai aur is ka last name bhee Nawaz hai.

 

[ashok321]

320% ?
But what is the dollar wise value?