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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, US to hold final round of BIT talks
A high powered US delegation is arriving here on 18 of this month to hold talks with the Pakistani authorities to finalise the BIT, in the absence of which, Washington was unprepared to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan.
Signing of BIT likely on 20th: Access to US market
Pakistan is seeking additional $2 billion market access from the United States and the issue is likely to be finalized after both the countries conclude their much awaited Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) here on January 20.
Free trade regime between Pakistan and China from Jan 1
Pakistan and China are set to launch the much awaited free trade regime under the Early Harvest Programme (EHP) from January 1.
Talks on EHP with Thailand in Feb
Pakistan and Thailand will hold second round of study group meeting in February next to pave the way for initiation of talks on the early harvest programme (EHP) leading to zero rate of duty.
Pakistan: FTAs with 4 states likely in 2005-06
China, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey have agreed to separately sign Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Pakistan preferably during the current fiscal year.
Pakistan and Tajikistan to sign trade agreement
Pakistan and Tajikistan will enter a preferential trade agreement (PTA) soon and Islamabad has already sent proposals to Dushanbe, sources said on Sunday.
Pak-China sign agreement to enforce EHP from January next
Pakistan and China signed an agreement to enforce Early Harvest Programme (EHP) reducing tariff on a number of industrial and agriculture products from January 1, 2006.
Second round of Pak-China FTA talks on
Pakistan and China on Wednesday started second-round of negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with a pledge to make it an effective document, giving boost to their bilateral trade and establishing mutually beneficial cooperative partnership.
Pakistan wants free trade agreement with US
Pakistan is pressing for a bigger reward for its alliance with the United States in the war on terror, with the country’s Commerce Minister calling for a Free Trade Agreement that would open up the American market to Pakistani goods.
Pakistan, US agree to bilateral investment agreement
Pakistan and United States’ have agreed over a mutual investment agreement that will smoothen the way to talks for a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
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