Trade access for Pakistan: 'Obama administration mulling issue with congress'

Obama administration is discussing a long-awaited preferential trade access programme for Pakistan with the new congress as it believes bolstering economic growth is key to the South Asian country's future development.
"The issue of textiles is an area that we have discussed and continue to discuss with Pakistan," Philip J Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs said at a briefing when asked about Islamabad's quest for greater access for its textile products to the US market. Crowley said the administration is "supportive of the concept of ROZs (Reconstruction Opportunity Zones), as they "are called, and continue to have dialogue with the congress on that issue."
The trade programme has been around for several years but could not see legislative progress last year due to domestic American differences over related issues. The designated zones to be established in Pakistan and Afghanistan under the programme would be able to have duty-free export of products to the United States.
Under the strategic dialogue, Pakistan has been seeking quick progress on ROZs legislation on Capitol Hill so that it can provide economic opportunity to the young people as well as spur the country's exports. The assistant secretary acknowledged that "helping Pakistan develop and prosper in the future, helping the government grow the economy of Pakistan will be vitally important."
"There is a security dimension to the challenge represented by the extremism that is a threat to Pakistan and a threat to others. But a great deal of the challenge is in expanding economic opportunity throughout Pakistan, including the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan." Washington, he noted, attaches importance to balancing the US assistance for Pakistan.
"We have a longstanding military relationship with Pakistan, and we continue to work on how we can best support Pakistan so that it, in turn, can defeat the extremism, which is a threat fundamentally to Pakistan itself as well to other countries in the region and around the world. But we have shifted to improve and expand the civilian assistance to Pakistan, and economic support is a critical aspect of that," Crowley remarked.