Afghanistan has proposed complete withdrawal of 'negative list' under the proposed Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Agreement (APTA). Sources told Business Recorder on Monday that the draft of the proposed Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA) has been handed over to Pakistan. The agreement, which has been renamed as (APTA), proposed abolition of 'negative list'.
According to sources, Afghan government has proposed that there should be no negative list under the new agreement. Presently, four items are covered under the negative list of the ATTA ie cigarettes; auto parts; right hand vehicles and beetle nuts.
The issue is likely to be taken up in the first joint session of Pakistan and Afghanistan on the revised agreement by end January 2009. Pakistani side would submit its comments on the proposed transit trade agreement in the next session. The joint customs committee of Pakistan and Afghanistan would also be constituted to examine the issue of withdrawal of items from the negative list under the ATTA.
Afghan government has desired to withdraw all the items from the negative list under the ATTA. The negative list has already been reduced from 60 items to four and Pakistan will discuss options and regime requirements with their Afghan counterparts about the remaining items in the list.
In this regard, the proposed joint customs committee of Pakistan and Afghanistan would also play key role in the implementation of the revised agreement. The Afghan side has also requested that Pakistan should allow import of beetle nuts through transit trade. As this item has serious health and revenue implications for Pakistan and beetle nuts are less consumed in Afghanistan, Pakistan desired that status quo may be maintained under the negative list.