ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Saturday urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to negotiate a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with the United States during his visit.
ICCI President Ahmad Hassan Moughal, in a statement, said removal of trade barriers and providing preferential market access to Pakistani products would double the bilateral trade between the two countries.
He expressed the optimism that the prime minister's visit to the US would yield positive results for the national economy, besides in bringing more US investment to Pakistan.
Moughal said after 9/11, Pakistan became the frontline state to fight against terrorism due to which its economy suffered huge losses apart from rendering great human sacrifices.
The prime minister should sensitize the US leadership to give preferential treatment to Pakistani products in its market without tariff and non-tariff barriers in order to compensate to some extent the huge economic losses, he added.
He also urged the US for helping Pakistan in building its industrial institutions, in addition to undertaking joint ventures and investment in its various sectors.
The ICCI president said the Pak-US bilateral trade in 2018 was reportedly $6.6 billion, which could be improved significantly by developing strong linkages between the private sectors of both countries. He said Pakistan’s major exports to the US comprised of textile goods, which were just about 3 percent of the latter's total textile imports.
There was need to persuade to the US to enhance its import of textile products from Pakistan that would contribute towards improving the local foreign exchange reserves, reducing balance of payment issues and strengthening the economy, he added.
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