ISLAMABAD: Meher Kashif Younis, Coordinator of the Federal Tax Ombudsman, has advised Pakistani exporters on Sunday to take full use of the opportunity presented by preferential trade with Turkey in order to increase bilateral trade volume in a variety of industries.
Speaking at a seminar on the “Benefits of Preferential Trade Agreement between Turkiye and Pakistan,” held on Sunday under the auspices of the Gold Ring Economic Forum, a strategic think tank, he emphasised the necessity of fostering business-to-business interaction in order to strengthen trade and investment ties between the two friendly nations.
According to him, the agreement promises greater market and business community integration and represents a critical turning point in the long-standing brotherly connections between Pakistan and Turkey.
He said that during the fiscal year 2021–2022, commerce between Pakistan and Turkiye totaled $883 million, with Pakistan exporting $366 million to that nation and importing $517 million from it. With a negative trade deficit of $151 million in 2021–22, Turkiye will benefit from the balance of trade, he continued. According to him, this contract would provide new export potential.
According to him, Turkiye would drop the duty to 0% on 92 tariff lines over the course of five to ten years during the second phase. Pakistan’s exports of these goods are valued at $1.608 billion, compared to Turkey’s $2.084 billion worldwide imports, some of which will be duty-free.
According to him, the agreement grants Pakistan preferential access to the Turkish market under 261 tariff lines that cover both conventional and non-conventional industries, including leather, rice, dates, mangoes, cutlery, sporting goods, seafood, processed agricultural products, rubber tubes and tyres, plastics, and engineering goods.
According to him, Pakistan’s exports of these tariff lines equal $5.1 billion, or 16% of all exports, whereas Turkey purchases these items for a total of $7.6 billion.
Meher Kashif Younis said that as of May 1, both parties had signed an agreement for duty reduction on mutually agreed-upon tariff lines. He said that Turkey has extended to Pakistan a margin of preferences and a tariff rate quota on agricultural goods.
Leather, footwear, glass, ceramics, items made of base metal, plastics and rubber, furniture, beds, lighting, sports and technical goods, chemicals and cosmetics, agricultural products, and processed agricultural are the product groups that will profit from the concessions, he said.
In exchange, he said, Pakistan will cut its 16 tariff lines to zero per cent in five to ten years. The total value of Turkey’s exports under these tariff lines is $2.123 billion, compared to Pakistan’s imports of $684 million.
—APP
