Pakistan, China Sign Accord Slashing Tariffs on Goods

2005-12-13 From Asia Pulse

Pakistan and China on December 9 inked an agreement to enforce Early Harvest Programme (EHP) for reducing tariff on around 3,000 industrial and agriculture products from January 1, 2006.

Pakistan's Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan and his Chinese counterpart Bo Xilai signed the agreement on behalf of their respective countries in Beijing.

Under the EHP, the two countries will receive tariff reductions on about 3,000 items, in three phases, till January, 2008. In the first phase, the Chinese side will bring down the excise duty to zero on 769 mutually agreed products that include vegetables, fruits, marble material and cotton fabrics.

Similarly, the Pakistani side will reduce the tariff to zero on 486 items, which include textile machinery and chemicals. The EHP consists of two lists of items - Common List and Separate List - for bringing customs duty to zero on certain items, even prior to the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).