China has extended duty-free access to Pakistan on 313 items under the new free trade agreement (FTA) to be signed during the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Beijing, adviser on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood told the National Assembly recently. China has agreed to provide Pakistan market access on the pattern of Association of South East Asian Nations.
Dawood expressed confidence that the second phase of the FTA with China will prove to be beneficial for the country.
The government has enhanced regulatory duty on finished products to cut imports, because of which imports reduced by $3.5 billion over the last nine to ten months, Pakistani media reports quoted Dawood as saying.
A textile policy is being formulated to enhance exports and inputs are being collected from over a hundred textile institutes, associations and chambers of commerce and industry, he said.
Garment cities at Faisalabad and Lahore are being extended, he added. (DS)
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