Pakistan Defers GCC FTA Citing Careful Deliberations
By Salman Khan
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has deferred signing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as it wants ‘careful deliberation’ before taking any decision.
Sources said that the matter was taken up by the cabinet in a recent meeting to approve signing of FTA with GCC countries. But the cabinet has deferred approval of signing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and wants careful deliberation before taking any decision.
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The other reason was the commerce minister and secretary were not present in the meeting.
The Commerce Division submitted a summary to cabinet seeking approval for formalizing the trade pact. However, the matter was deferred as both the Minister for Commerce and the Secretary Commerce Division were abroad on official business. The cabinet also noted that the case required “careful deliberation” before any decision could be made.
Earlier, Pakistan and China had signed FTA but it did not yield any result and rather put burden of cheaper imports on Pakistan. China imports rose to 15 billion dollars but Pakistan exports stood at $1 billion.
Therefore, there have been lot of discussions and criticism regarding FTA with China. Therefore, analysts believed that Pakistan should not take any hasty decision regarding FTA with Gulf countries as it could also overburden the country with huge imports.
This is why cabinet has observed that government required careful deliberation before moving on FTA with GCC countries.
No doubt GCC has been a big market for Pakistani exporters and government was also looking towards it as an alternatives as the President USA had imposed tariffs even on Pakistan.First ferry license approved for routes to Iran, GCC countries
USA has also been big market but it has been in favour of Pakistan. Pakistan exports stood around 7 billion dollars to US whereas US exports stood only 2 billion dollars.
Negotiations for the Pakistan–GCC FTA have been ongoing for over a decade, with talks first initiated in 2004. The GCC, comprising Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners.
Pakistan–GCC Free Trade Agreement: The negotiations for this FTA have been ongoing for over a decade, with a preliminary agreement signed in September 2023. The agreement aims to boost bilateral trade and cooperation between Pakistan and the GCC in various sectors, including goods, services, and investments. You can find more information about the status of this and other trade agreements on the Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan website.
However, analysts note that domestic industries and regulatory authorities have raised concerns about protecting local manufacturers and ensuring compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. The delay in cabinet approval means the agreement will not proceed until the relevant stakeholders are present for detailed discussions.
