Pakistan has decided to resume deadlocked talks on free trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore and officials said that representatives of the island-state have been invited in this regard.
The talks came to a halt in the last week of May when Pakistan officials had visited Singapore. Officials said that the two countries have so far held four rounds of talks, adding that the Pakistan side was awaiting a response from Singapore.
It is learnt that both sides have agreed to accelerate the pace of work on an independent trade deal. An official of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said that Singapore wants 80 per cent reduction in tariff lines, adding that a summary in this regard had been received.
The FBR official said that not only Pakistan, but all countries of the world are able to send their products to Singapore without the imposition of any duty.
He said that Pakistan will gain access to the services sector in Singapore, improving the country’s prospects for manpower exports and remittances, adding that the country will also be able to boost ties with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping.
Sources said that Pakistan’s domestic sector, one of the stakeholders in the process, have reservations about the incentive package offered by the Singapore authorities.
They say that the reduction in tariff would tilt the balance of trade against Pakistan, resulting in higher trade deficit. They also contend that such an agreement would hurt the local industry and ultimately affect the national economy.
However, other sources were sure that Pakistan would definitely benefit if Singapore allowed liberal trade participation, especially in the services sector.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2011.
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