Pak-Thailand FTA to be signed in January 2018

ISLAMABAD: A free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Thailand will be signed on January 15, to focus on enhancing bilateral trade between the two countries.

The 9th round of FTA negotiations would start between Pakistan and Thailand by November 6 to November 8 this year, in which both sides would present the complete offer list of FTA for reaching the final agreement, a Ministry of Commerce official told APP on Tuesday.

Both sides had exchanged the final offer lists of items for free trade, including automobile and textile sectors, to remove the reservations on both sectors. Pakistan wants concession on 100 textiles products, agro-products, plastic, and pharmaceuticals the same that Thailand has granted to its other FTA partners, he said.

The official said during the 9th round, talks would be held on the text of agreement, tariff reduction modalities, complete request lists from both side and offer lists.

He said Pakistan had relative advantages over Thailand in some 684 commodities, including cotton yarn and woven textiles, readymade garments, leather products, surgical instruments and sports goods.

Talking on the second phase of Pak-China FTA, he said China has agreed to provide market access to 65 items shared by Pakistan besides providing concession on all items included in the offer list.

This acceptance came during the negotiations held under 2nd phase of Pak-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in China. “We want the concession on 65 import items and low tariff line on products for further trade liberalisation in the 2nd phase of FTA between Pakistan and China,” he said.

He said that Pakistan was desirous to have duty relaxation on 65 products before launching the phase-II, the same as China has given to the Association of South East Asian Nation countries. The ministry official said the coming round of negotiations under the 2nd phase of FTA with China would be held in the first week of January, 2018 in Islamabad.