Pakistan and Turkey will soon sign a free trade agreement. This will bolster trade between the two countries. It could spur joint ventures as, besides increasing trade, it would help lower the current high customs duties between the two sides.

The two countries have very close cooperation in diverse fields including defence and fighting war against terrorism and extremism. Current trade between the two countries stands at $600 million, but after signing the agreement it has the potential to touch the two billion dollar mark. Pakistan mainly imports telecommunication equipment, TV, cameras, radar apparatus, textile and machinery, while Turkey’s imports from Pakistan include textile yarn, cotton, woven fabrics, apparel and clothing accessories, plastics and organic chemicals.

Pakistan and Turkey have been negotiating the FTA for quite some time. Current Pakistani exports to Turkey are concentrated in a limited number of products as compared to Turkey, whose exports to Pakistan are much diversified. Though Pakistan currently has a trade surplus with Turkey, yet this can change quickly owing to Turkey’s wider range of product offerings.

Turkey is known to liberally use anti-dumping laws. It has already initiated anti-dumping cases on major Pakistani exports in the past.