US should pay more attention to FTA with Pakistan: PTEA

14 Oct '13

2 min read

The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) chairman Sheikh Ilyas Mehmood urged US to pay more attention towards the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan, as well as enhance the scope of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to textile products that would help increase exports from the country to the US, during a meeting of PTEA representatives with US Economic Officer, Doreen Bailey.

The PTEA chairman said exports to the US from Pakistan range between US$ 3.7 billion and US$ 4 billion, making US the country’s biggest trading partner, and PTEA believes that the country has more potential to export goods worth US$ 6 billion but it requires not only greater access to US market but also some transfer of technology.

Mr. Mehmood lauded the efforts by US for co-operating with Pakistan in energy sector, and said co-operation in trade, investment and industrial growth should be the main focus of both countries as they can achieve mutually beneficial results by developing collaboration in these areas.

Pakistan offers attractive joint ventures and investment opportunities in different sectors of its economy, including textiles, and the US investors should come to Pakistan to explore these areas for investment, he added.

Furthermore, the PTEA chairman also said the quality of Pakistani textiles is far better than others and the prices are also very competitive and hence, the US should concentrate towards the FTA with Pakistan.

On her part, Ms. Doreen Bailey said Pakistan is an important country and the US wants to further deepen and expand its trade, investment and economic relations with the country.

Pakistan is a potential market for entrepreneurs as many US-based companies are doing good business here, and the resumption of Pak-US strategic dialogue would pave way for faster, deeper, boarder and more comprehensive partnership between the two countries, she added.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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