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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


Colombo agrees to address FTA fears
In a major development, Colombo has agreed to work out permanent solution to Islamabad’s fears over the import of auto parts keeping in view the likely investment by India in Sri Lanka, a government official told The News.
Pakistan, China to exchange diplomatic notes on FTA
Pakistan and China would exchange diplomatic notes for initiation of trade under Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the visit of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to Beijing from April 17 to 19.
Humayun leaves for UK today
Pursuing the case of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union and enhancement of bilateral trade and economic relations would be the agenda of the two days visit of Pakistan federal minister for Commerce Humayun Akhtar Khan to the UK starting Friday.
FTAs with Sri Lanka and China: Pakistan failed to take advantage of FTAs: KCCI chief
Pakistan has not been able to take the desired advantage from the two Free Trade Agreements with Sri Lanka and China.
Pak-Lanka trade has doubled after FTA, says Humayun
The ministry of commerce on Friday claimed that after the enforcement of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, bilateral trade has doubled, without giving any figures in this regard.
First review meeting of Pak-Sri Lanka FTA held
The first meeting of joint committee, of Pak-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement held here on Friday which reviewed the progress of the agreement. The joint committee was established under article 11 of Pak-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.
‘Piracy blocks foreign investment’
President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Majyd Aziz has called for creating awareness of intellectual property rights and effective enforcement of IPR legislation in order to attract investment in the country.
Talks on Pak-US BIT likely to continue in 2007: US report
The United States has said that a small but significant number of differences are persisting on issues of considerable importance to the US in the proposed Pak-US Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), however, this indicates that discussion on the treaty are expected to continue in 2007.
Pakistan may lose EU market as FTA rejected
The 25-country European Union - the biggest market for Pakistani products - is likely to be closed down for Pakistan, as the EU refused to sign a free trade agreement (FTA), arguing that the size of Pakistan’s economy is not enough for such a trade deal, a senior government official told The News.
Pak-Malaysia free trade talks hit snags
The ongoing dialogue between Pakistan and Malaysia on a free trade agreement (FTA) has hit snags as the main stakeholders in the country strongly oppose the proposed 20 per cent cut in tariff on the import of palm oil as demanded by Malaysia.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce