Pakistan, where most exporters are largely unaware of the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) facility, exported goods worth $195 million to the US market in last year, participants of a video conference organised at the head office of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) here said on Wednesday.
During the interactive session, during which Pakistan's embassy in Washington DC was linked with TDAP head office, Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for GSP Bill Jackson apprised Pakistani exporters and officials of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) on the trade between the two countries.
The interactive session also established an audio-video link between Pakistan's mission in the US and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry and US Department of State.
The session was held to discuss the GSP programme for duty-free access to US markets. In 2012, Pakistan exported $32.4 million of gemstones, precious metals, and jewellery to the US under the GSP programme, accounting to 11 percent of the facility, Jackson explained during a presentation.
Other items, he pointed out, were plastic in primary forms. Semi-finished products were exported worth $29.8 million, or 6.5 percent of the facility. Leather goods export stood at 5.5 percent with $10.1 million, he said. India, Turkey and Thailand are excluded from the GSP programme, which are Pakistan's key competitors in jewellery products, he said, and explained the exporters as how they could apply for GSP facility.
According to Jackson, Pakistan and 126 other countries are eligible for exporting nearly 3,500 products under the GPS programme which enables any country to ship exports without duties into US markets. He said US imported products valued at $19.9 billion under the GPS programme in last year. Overall GSP utilisation stood at 81 percent, he said, adding that US total imports from Pakistan amounted to $3.5 billion in 2012.
He also explained the exporters about products which cannot reach the US markets without duties under the programme, including most of textile apparel, watches, footwear, handbags, luggage, and a variety of leather items. Advising Pakistani exporters that the GPS programme should be used as a marketing tool to ensure that "the programme acquisition is done with identification of eligible products".
Under-utilised products in 2012 were leather sports gloves, mittens, and mitts totalling $10.4 million as their utilisation rating was 62 percent, he said. He pointed out that a significant growth was witnessed in export of mixtures spices to reach $6 million in the last three years from Pakistan to the US markets under the programme. He enumerated eligible items during the conference, besides receiving questions from representatives of trade bodies on various issues.
Latter, Economic Officer of the US Consulate in Karachi Kara Babrowski answered exporters' questions on how to increase the volume of trade under the GSP programme. TDAP's Chief Executive Abid Javed Akbar, Director Shahida Qaiser, Director-General Usman Narejo and Director General Abdul Kareem Dawoodpota also attended the video conference.
Comments
Comments are closed.