China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement 2018
It is the largest product line with 5872 product lines in the 8-digit HS field. Of this amount, 80 per cent, or 4701 product lines, will have duty-free access to China until the last year of CPFTA2. 34% of priority product lines 3 have improved access according to CPFTA2 compared to CPFTA1. In addition to our practices in India and Russia and in our commercial research centres along the Belt-Road initiative, we also have subsidiaries that support foreign investors in Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. This round of review of the CPFTA expands and diversifies business opportunities for businesses on both sides while maintaining fair and equitable protection of local industrial interests. The second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) for the period 2019-2024 was concluded in early 2019 between the two countries and entered its implementation phase on 1 January 2020. Well-negotiated, CPFTA2 is expected to significantly improve Pakistani exporters` access to the $2 trillion import market, helping to address the country`s soaring trade deficit. To understand how CPFTA2 can help Pakistani exporters achieve this goal, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has commissioned the Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR) to conduct a preliminary assessment of China`s customs regulations in CPFTA2. This is in line with China`s free trade agreements with New Zealand, Peru, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Iceland, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, Georgia, Chile and Pakistan, as well as the Asia-Pacific trade agreement. The results obtained at the highest level indicate that the customs structure proposed in Pakistan under CPFTA2 is a marked improvement over the CPFTA1. On more than 80% of the CPFTA2 product lines imported by China, Pakistan will be offered tariffs lower or equivalent to those of China`s main trading partner. Nearly 40% of CPFTA2 products imported by China have been reduced under CPFTA2 compared to CPFTA2, and 45% of tariffs will now be available in China duty-free.
