ISLAMABAD: Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt has said the FTA with China has caused Pakistan heavy losses, so it should be reviewed and balanced immediately. Many industrial units and SMEs have closed as a result of faulty trade deal resulting in massive unemployment, he maintained. The deal is heavily tilted towards China as Beijing’s share in Pakistan total imports has jumped to 29 percent which must be reduced.
Talking to Customs Today, he said that, after the FTA with China, Pakistan’s exports, comprising mainly rice and cotton, jumped from 400 million dollars to 1.7 billion dollars while Chinese exports to Pakistan swelled from 1.8 billion dollars to almost fourteen billion dollars which has taken a toll on the economy.
Pakistan is importing electric and electronic items, machinery, ceramics, plywood, chipboard, bicycles, iron and steel, chemicals, fruits and vegetables and a lot more from the friendly country while exporting a few items due to taxes imposed by Chinese authorities, he added. He said China’s FTA with East Asian countries has resulted in further loss of exports as Pakistani goods are attracting higher tariffs in China compared to the goods produced in East Asian nations.
He said that not a single trade deal has benefited Pakistan but deal with China remained on the top and negative impact on the economy is concerned. Shahid Rasheed Butt said we support the demand of the exporters to reduce energy rates in line with the prices prevalent in the competing nations so that Pakistani goods can compete in the international market.
