KARACHI: As the second phase of the Pak-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into force from January 1, enabling the country to export 1037 products to China on zero duty, Pakistani industrialists are caught in a classic catch-22 situation, saying they will not be able to draw immediate benefits from the arrangement.
Pakistan and China on December 31, 2019, signed the second Sino-Pak FTA which will allow Pakistani manufacturers and traders to export 313 new products on zero duty to China. Pakistan already enjoys export of 724 duty-free products to the Chinese market.
“I had the honor of concluding the agreement for Pakistan in April, 2019, hoping it would help increase our exports substantially,” Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Secretary Commerce, tweeted after signing the agreement.
However, Pakistani industrialists say it will be hard for them to reap the benefits of the deal against the backdrop of the gradual economic slowdown. “They have relaxed 313 items, but our problem is that we don’t have anything to sell because there is not productivity,” Mian Anjum Nisar, newly elected president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce (FPCCI) told Arab News on Thursday. “We have witnessed deindustrialization in the last five years.”
He said that the business community is facing liquidly problems since their refunds remained unpaid while the input cost, including gas, electricity and markup, had multiplied.
Pakistan expects that the production of cotton, which is a basic ingredient for textile goods, would be around 8 million bales this year against the demand of 15 million bales. “Pakistan will have to import around 6 million bales which will have value addition impact of around $6 billion,” Nisar added.
The FPCCI fears that the current situation will result in sick industries due to high input costs, if corrective measures are not taken.
To meet the international demand, industrialists say they will have to increase the production capacity by setting up new industries. “We will not be able to draw immediate benefits from the Pak-China FTA unless we managed to enhance productivity. You need to have something to sell in a market,” the FPCCI president said.
Pakistani industrialists also view the United States-China trade war as an opportunity, though they say they are unable to draw the benefits. “This is a new opportunity as industries in China are moving toward substitution and trade will be diverted to other countries. If we succeed in capturing a portion of that trade, it will increase our exports, though we will require long term planning and infrastructure development,” he added.
The protocol for the second phase of China-Pakistan FTA was signed by both countries during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing on in April 2019.
“Under Phase-II, Pakistan has secured enhanced and deeper concessions on products of its export interests, revision of safeguards mechanism for protection of the domestic industry, inclusion of the balance of payment clause as a safety valve against balance of payments difficulties, and effective enforcement of the electronic data exchange,” according to the Commerce Ministry.
Pakistan to export 1,037 duty-free products to China
https://arab.news/83haa
Pakistan to export 1,037 duty-free products to China
- Local industrialists say they will not benefit from the arrangement immediately due to declining productivity
- Rising costs of gas, electricity and high markups are causing “deindustrialization” in Pakistan, President FPCCI
Pakistan announces compensation for Islamabad mosque blast that killed over 30
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visits Islamabad mosque, meets family members of victims who were killed in blast
- Sharif announces compensation of $18,000 for relatives of those killed in attack, $10,800 for those seriously injured
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday announced compensation for the victims of a suicide attack earlier this month that targeted a mosque in Islamabad, vowing that sacrifices of those who gave their lives would not go in vain.
At least 32 people were killed and over 150 others sustained injuries in a suicide blast last Friday that targeted Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai Kallan area located on Islamabad’s outskirts.
The blast occurred during Friday prayers at the packed mosque, with Daesh saying one of its militants had targeted the congregation by detonating an explosive vest.
Sharif visited the mosque with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials on Wednesday. He met relatives of the blast and offered prayers for them.
“Rs5 million [$18,000] will be given to the families of each martyr, Rs3 million [$10,800] to those seriously injured, and Rs1 million [$3,600] to others who suffered minor injuries,” a statement from Sharif’s office said.
Sharif also announced Rs10 million [$36,800] for the family of Aun Abbas, who had resisted the suicide bomber. He later visited Abbas’ residence and offered prayers for his soul and met his family.
“The entire nation, including myself, is deeply grieved over the heinous, despicable, and extremely deplorable act of terrorism on Feb. 6,” the Pakistani prime minister said.
During his visit to the mosque, the prime minister was briefed about the attack by police and district administration authorities who accompanied him.
Friday’s mosque blast was the deadliest in Islamabad since a 2008 suicide bombing at the Marriott Hotel that killed 63 people and wounded more than 250. In November last year, a suicide bomber struck outside a court in the capital, killing 12 people.
Tallal Chaudry, Pakistan’s state minister for interior, blamed the Islamabad mosque attack on militants that he said were “sponsored by India and supported by Afghanistan.”
Both countries have always denied Islamabad’s accusations of supporting militant groups who carry out attacks in Pakistan.
