Pak, US set stage for talks on free trade

NEW YORK— Pakistan and the United States are redoubling efforts to work out a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) that could set the stage for negotiations to establish a free trade agreement, Commerce Minister Hamayun Akhtar Khan has said. “Both the governments have decided to accelerate the pace of negotiations, and there is a fair consensus on majority of provisions,” he told a news conference at the Pakistan House in New York on Friday.
Wrapping up his week-long visit to the United States during which he met senior administration officials, including U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman and Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca in Washington, the commerce minister said the treaty could play an important role in strengthening Pakistan’s economy which creates new opportunities for exporters and investors in both economies. Both sides have been holding discussions on a plethora of trade issues under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
The commerce minister said President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had urged President George W. Bush during talks in December 2004 and in September this year to start negotiations for a free trade pact with Pakistan. “President Musharraf feels very strongly that the strong political ties between the United States and Pakistan should cover the economic area as well,” Khan said.
“He feels the two issues are interlinked,” Mr Khan said, adding that market access to the United States for Pakistan’s exports was essential to curb poverty. “Pakistan has a very active FTA (free trade agreement) policy right now in the region and outside,” he said, adding that his country was preparing for competition by deregulating and liberalizing its trade regime.
Pointing out that Pakistan’s exports were steadily rising, he said, “We cannot have a major jump on exports without liberalizing our imports.” “Because of our reforms, we are bold enough to go ahead and take this leap,” he said of the free trade moves, particularly with China “which is a huge market and can help improve the competitivess of our industry.”
Khan said when President Musharraf came to power, Pakistan’s exports were 7.8 billion dollar; while this fiscal year, the exports would exceed some 17-billion dollars. Referring to Pakistan’s growth rate of 8.4 percent, he said, “unless we expand our exports, we would not be able to sustain such growth rates.” —Agencies