Pakistan

The government of Pakistan is a keen pursuer of bilateral trade and investment agreements. It has a full FTA with Sri Lanka (2005), a PTA with Iran (2004) and Mauritius (2007), Early Harvest Schemes with China (2005) and Malaysia (2007), and is part of both ECOTA and SAFTA. It is in various stages of FTA talks, or preparations for talks, with Brunei, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco, Singapore, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Turkey and Russia (among others). In July 2006, it signed a Framework Agreement on Trade with Mercosur.

Negotiations on a US-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty, as a step towards a US-Pakistan FTA, have been quite controversial and are unconcluded. After talks restarted in mid-2010, a draft US-Pakistan BIT was sent for approval to Pakistan’s Cabinet in April 2012. The Pakistani government has already signed almost 50 BITs with other countries. In 2011 Germany ratified a BIT with Pakistan.

On a wider scale, there is talk of possible Pakistani FTAs with Afghanistan, Algeria, the EU, Japan, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Asian Development Bank/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0


Reuters | 2-Jun-2025
US President Donald Trump said representatives from Pakistan are coming to the United States next week as the South Asian country seeks to make a deal on tariffs.
The Express Tribune | 6-May-2025
Pakistan has raised serious concerns over high tariffs imposed by Japan and calls for entering into a bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement to ensure fair competition and balanced tariffs.
Pakistan Today | 20-Mar-2025
The Pakistani government has agreed to a key International Monetary Fund (IMF) demand to reduce effective average import tariffs by one-third over the next five years, aiming to lower the average tariff to 7.1%.
Profit | 4-Feb-2025
Lawmakers criticize poor trade negotiations, call for review of barter trade with Iran.
The Express Tribune | 2-Jan-2025
Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan is set to embark on an official visit to South Korea to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement, marking a significant step towards enhancing bilateral economic cooperation.
Arab News | 2-Jan-2025
Pakistan and Kenya have agreed on a free trade agreement and mutual cooperation to enhance business and investment opportunities.