Demands grow for greater reductions of import duties for products from Pakistan
The secretary of Pakistan's Footwear Manufacturers Association Arshad Ayyaz has confirmed the European Union (EU) removed import duty of 5.6% on leather upper shoes and 11.4% on textile upper shoes as of January, 2002. However, the move has prompted calls for similar reductions in related sectors such as leather goods, which are not covered by the agreement.
The former Chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) Farrukh H. Sheikh has demanded the ministry of commerce pursue the case for leather goods to be included in the duty waiver, pointing out that Pakistan's exports of leather garments and leather goods such as purses, wallets, gloves etc. are far behind those of its neighbours.
Mr Seikh accompanied Pakistan’s commerce minister during talks in the US over textile exports. He has urged the government to look at duty on leather garment products not only in the EU but also in the US, where duties on these items range from 3-12%. He suggested that if duty on textile products cannot be reduced because of the strong US textile lobby, the government should instead try to seek a duty-free package for leather garment exports.
