Pakistan not to trade with China on cost of local industries: warns FPCCI

KARACHI: President of Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Engineer Daroo Khan Achakzai has said that Pakistan may enter into second phase of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) with China but not at cost of closing our local industries and adversely affecting the economy at large.

Presiding over an interactive session on CPFTA organised by FPCCI, while commenting on first phase which has enhanced Pakistan’s trade deficit with China to $17 billion, he said that Pakistan has already liberalised 60 percent of its trade with China, suggesting that Ministry of Commerce to take policy reforms for elimination of under-invoicing and settle to have agreements with China on removal of Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and barriers other than tariffs.