Sanity, it seems, is ultimately gaining ground as the government has decided to give a serious consideration to every Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before it decides to ink such accords. It is therefore heartening to note that the Nawaz Sharif government will not sign any Free Trade Agreement that does not safeguard the country's interests.
Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir has been asked about reasons for the poor performance of exports and delay in finalization of Free Trade Agreements with Turkey and Thailand and second phase of FTA with China. According to him, the past FTAs were not negotiated properly but incumbent government will first protect country's interests and then sign the pact.
It is, therefore, a matter of serious concern. Our export slide, for example, has been caused by a variety of factors. One of the key factors is the grim reality of FTAs and PTAs that have been found to be skewed in favour of Pakistan's trading partners - not in our favour.