Pakistan\u2019s PTA with Central Asian countries Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Indonesia is of great importance in trade with these countries: minister
\n ISLAMABAD
\nFederal Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan said that the government is implementing comprehensive economic policies to take the country\u2019s exports to $60 billion through tariff rationalization.
\nTariff rationalization plays a significant role in economic governance, and it is planned to take country\u2019s export to $60 billion in the next five years through short, medium and long term economic and trade policies goals, Federal Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan told APP in an exclusive interview here Sunday.
\nThe commerce minister said that tariffs have a pivotal role for promoting trade liberalization, for which, on the instructions of Prime Minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the government has formulated a comprehensive tariff policy, which will increase the volume of domestic trade and give Pakistan an opportunity to enter new markets.
\nJam Kamal said that the government has planned to increase domestic exports up to $60 billion in the next five years and Prime Minister, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is giving policy guidelines in this regard.
\nReplying to a question on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with different countries, he said that the government is working on trade diversification at the item level to introduce the new commodities in the international market for expanding the country\u2019s trade basket and giving an option to liberalize the country\u2019s trade with these economies.
\nThe Minister said that Pakistan has finalized FTAs with China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, and similarly, FTAs with Turkey, Thailand and Iran are still in the negotiation stage, in which the role of tariff policy is very important.
\nHe said that Pakistan\u2019s Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Central Asian countries Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Indonesia is of great importance in trade with these countries.
\nThe minister said that Pakistan prioritized its trade with regional countries, including the Central Asian Republic and also promoted its goods to the non-traditional markets of North and South America.
\nHe said that Pakistan supports free trade in global and regional trade and policies are also being formulated in this regard.
\nReplying to a question, he said the current government\u2019s home-grown tariff rationalization policy vision has emerge the country as liberalized and robust economy at the global level, which will not only increase the country\u2019s exports, but also increase the effectiveness of Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) with various countries and also connect the country\u2019s economy with the Global Supply Value Chain (GSVG). The Minister said that in Pakistan, tariffs have historically served as a significant source of revenue, often at the expense of export competitiveness and industrial efficiency.
\nHe said that tariff rationalization is crucial for Pakistan\u2019s economic transformation, promoting export competitiveness, industrial efficiency, and trade integration with potential global and regional markets. The minister said the main policy suggestions are lowering the tariffs on value-added and finished goods for enhancing institutional capacity, making trade agreements more robust, and promoting export-oriented industrialization.
\nJam Kamal said that due to the government\u2019s tariff rationalization policy, the country\u2019s economy would be efficient and achieve industrial productivity and trade competitiveness for sustainable economic growth.
\nHe said that data science and statistics were important in the current era, and the government has conducted a diagnostic study of 15 potential export-oriented sectors and decided to go for pragmatic decisions to reduce or increase the tariff in light of available data from different quarters.
\nReplying to another question, he said that regional trade was the main focus of the government and five Central Asian states, including Azerbaijan is important for increasing trade and economic connectivity with European countries. The minister said that Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan were important trading partners in future trade with Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan\u2019s PTA with Central Asian countries Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Indonesia is of great importance in trade with these countries: minister ISLAMABAD Federal Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan said that the government is implementing comprehensive economic policies to take the country\u2019s exports to $60 billion through tariff rationalization. Tariff rationalization plays a significant role in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-479406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n