The Preferential Commerce Agreement (PTA), which aims to increase trade in commodities between the two nations, was signed by Pakistan and Turkey on Friday.
In this respect, the agreement was signed during a ceremony held at the PM’s Office in Islamabad with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in attendance by Turkish Trade Minister Dr. Mehmet Mus and Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar.
The PTA has extensive clauses on bilateral protections, exclusions for balance of payments, dispute resolution, and recurrent reviews of the agreement.
One of the main features of the trade concessions made under the agreement is the concessions made to Pakistan on 261 Tariff Lines, which comprise important products that the nation wants to export to Istanbul from the industrial and agricultural sectors.
When compared to rivals like India, China, Vietnam, and Malaysia, concessions on these goods will provide local exporters better access to the market.
Additionally, the standards of origin included in the agreement are comparable to those that Pakistan already complies with under the GSP+ system, which are the norms of origin of the EU. In contrast, Pakistan has provided Turkiye with privileges over 130 Tariff Lines.
He praised President Tayyip Erdogan’s vision and leadership, saying, “This has been a subject of discussion for past many years and finally it has been achieved due to untiring efforts of both sides,”
Given that their “potential is infinite and capacity is beyond anyone’s comprehension,” he claimed that the Trade in Goods Pact will open up new avenues of opportunity for both nations.
The deal will be crucial in meeting the first trade objective of $5 billion, the PM stated separately in a tweet.
Dr. Mehmet MUS, the Turkish trade minister, had already arrived in Pakistan to sign the contract. According to a press statement from the Ministry of Commerce, Syed Naveed Qamar, the federal minister for commerce, met him at the airport.
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