Duty-free 313 Pakistani products to access Chinese markets from Jan 01

ISLAMABAD: A total of 313 Pakistani products would have a duty-free access to the Chinese markets from 01 January 2020, ARY NEWS reported on Monday.

Pakistan and China signed a protocol for the implementation of the agreement during the last visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China.

Pakistan is already enjoying zero duty on the export of 724 products to China under the first Free Trade Agreement signed between the two countries in 2006.

The details were shared in a handout issued from the commerce ministry today, detailing the implementation of the second phase of the Pakistan China Free Trade Agreement (FTA-2).

It stated that China will immediately eliminate tariffs on 313 most priority tariff lines of Pakistan’s export interest, allowing Pakistani manufacturers and traders to export these products on zero duty to the massive Chinese market.

Under the agreement, Pakistan has also offered market access to China on raw materials, intermediate goods and machinery.

The new tariff plans could help Pakistan in availing the facilities currently only available for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in China.

The two countries have completed all the legal procedures and formalities to start the implementation of the agreement.