Barter Trade Agreement Between Pakistan and China Unlikely, Senate Body Told

Secretary Commerce Wednesday told the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce that it is unlikely that a barter trade agreement between Pakistan and China will materialize anytime soon. The meeting of the committee, chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, was informed that preferred countries for barter trade include Afghanistan, Iran and Russia. The secretary also briefed the committee on the progress on barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Russia. He informed the committee that barter trade would be initiated with these countries on a limited level. He said that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has been tasked with taking businessmen on board for initiating barter trade. The secretary mentioned that barter trade was happening between Pakistan and these countries in an informal way but now an agreement has been signed to initiate barter trade through official channels. The secretary also highlighted that talks are underway between Customs officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan in this regard. He also pointed out that there would be no change in tax and duties and the old mechanism will be followed. It is pertinent to mention here that last month, Pakistan allowed barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Russia for certain goods. The imports, allowed under the mechanism, among others include fuel imports such as coal, crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The Ministry of Commerce also issued a separate list of items that can be imported from the three countries.