Government to safeguard national interest in FTA talks

ISLAMABAD: The government will safeguard the national interest while negotiating new free trade agreements (FTAs) with Turkey and Thailand and reviewing the FTA with China, commerce minister said on Tuesday. 

Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan told the senate that FTAs would not only improve Pakistan’s competitiveness, but also enhance country’s exports.

Khan denied that Pak-Afghan transit trade had shifted to Iran. He said Afghanistan imported $2.55 billion worth of products during 2014/15 under the Pak-Afghan transit trade agreement (APTTA).

The minister said the country was facing trade deficit during the last three years. Pakistan recorded trade deficit of $23.96 billion in the fiscal year of 2015/16 as compared to $22.1 37 billion in 2014/15, up 8.42 percent.

Minister Khan said no study has been conducted in the recent years to assess the impact of Pak-Afghanistan transit trade on the manufacturing sector in the country.

Under Article 30 of the APTTA 2010, various businesses, involved in clearance of transit cargo such as port terminal operators, shipping companies, stevedores, freight forwarders, customs agents, transport operators, insurance and tracking companies and toll tax collectors earn revenues from transit trade, which helped the economy in general, he said.

Khan said since the transit trade is about facilitating Afghan global imports through Karachi port up to Torkham border, the manufacturing sector of Pakistan is not directly affected by or benefiting from the APTTA.

He said the past few years have seen a rising trend of domestic online shopping owing to the availability of required infrastructure for e commerce in Pakistan.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued various rules, regulations and instructions to banks for regulating the online transactions. To prevent cardholders from risks and vulnerabilities from card data losses, the SBP issued regulations on payment card security.

Minister Khan said these regulations were intended to help standardisation and enhancement of security features of payment cards, ensuring confidentiality of customer’s data and to promote effective and secure means of electronic payment mechanisms. Moreover, in order to mitigate the risks associated with internet banking and safeguard the interests of customers, the SBP issued regulations for the security of internet banking.