Pak-China: Talks on free trade begin

First round of negotiations between Pakistan and China for the second phase of tariff concessions begins in Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD:

The first round of negotiations between Pakistan and China for the second phase of tariff concessions began in Islamabad on Thursday.

Senior Joint Secretary Commerce Himayat Ullah Khan, the leader of Pakistani representatives at the meeting, expressed satisfaction with the implementation status of the first phase of a free trade agreement (FTA). “However, we feel there is a need to conduct an empirical evaluation to help us understand some of the issues which we could address better in the second phase of negotiations,” asserted Khan.

The Chinese delegation, led by Deputy Director General Trade H E Zhu Hong, also met with Federal Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim. The commerce minister highlighted that the country’s economy was under tremendous strain due to multiple factors such as the war against terror, global economic meltdown and the worst floods in Pakistan’s history in August.

Fahim said that one of the main concerns of the stakeholders was the growing trade deficit with China.

The minister was told the first phase of negotiation is expected to conclude by the end of 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2011.