Pak-Turkiye Trade in Goods Agreement Receives Praise from Business Community
Published on: November 1, 2023.
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President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawri, expressed satisfaction with the signing of the Pakistan-Turkey Trade in Goods Agreement between the two governments. He stated that the bilateral trade volume between the two countries has surpassed $1 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24, after a ten-year hiatus, reaching $1.1 billion per year.
Bakhtawri expects that the bilateral trade volume will further increase in the future. He suggested that Pakistani exporters should focus on value-added textiles, sports goods, surgical equipment, rice, fruits and vegetables, and construction materials.
Dr. Khurram Tariq, President of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, explained that a rigorous and regular consultative process took place in the federal ministry of commerce, with input from representatives of the trade and industrial community of Pakistan, regarding the Pakistan-Turkey trade.
The main import items from Turkey to Pakistan include cotton, textile yarn, fabrics, textile machinery, general industrial machinery and equipment, and chemical materials. Pakistan’s main exports to Turkey consist of cotton fabrics, articles of apparel, clothing accessories, synthetic dyes and color lakes, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and rubber tires.
According to a senior official in the Ministry of Commerce, the Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Turkey is expected to be signed by the start of 2024. The official informed that the two sides have agreed on a final list of tariff lines, with Turkey prepared to provide duty-free access to local textile products in its market.
The negotiation on the FTA between Pakistan and Turkey will conclude, followed by a final agreement to boost bilateral trade. The FTA will be finalized under the Pakistan-Turkey Strategic Economic Framework (SEF) plan of action.
The proposed sectors for enhancing cooperation between the two countries include textile, tourism and culture, investment in industrial cooperation, auto industry, agriculture, banking, and finance.
Turkey has also agreed to offer the lowest tariff treatment on all tariff lines, similar to what it has provided to other trading partners in the past.
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