LAHORE – All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Chairman Gohar Ejaz has urged both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to seek an exemption from duty imposed on Pakistan cotton fabric under safeguard measures by the Turkish government.
Turkey has imposed safeguard duty on import of cotton fabric, including denim, grey and processed fabric, from Pakistan, a measure likely to hit adversely $240 million exports from Pakistan. According to him, Pakistan’s overall textile export to Turkey is around $350 million with major chunk of cotton fabric, roughly 70 percent of total exports, and the proposed 30 percent safeguard duty would extend over the next three years once it is levied by the Turkish government after safeguard investigations are completed.
Ejaz stated any such restriction on Pakistan exports to Turkey is a negation of the vision presented by both the Turkish and Pakistani leadership during a visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, vowing to harness bilateral trade to the tune of $5.0 billion by 2015. The chairman pointed out that Pakistan is already beset by crisis due to devastating floods in the country and cost attributed to terrorism, resulting in flagging exports despite the great potential of the textile industry.
He feared that the imposition of safeguard duty on Pakistan cotton fabric on the part of Turkey would be a considerable source of anxiety for Pakistan’s textile industry. It may be added that fabrics produced by Pakistan and exported to Turkey for manufacturing garments to the Europe is not presently manufactured by the Turkish weaving industry. Therefore, he stressed that the import of Pakistan cotton fabric is not likely to do any harm to Turkey’s industry.
Gohar Ejaz expressed the hope that APTMA’s viewpoint would reach across the board and that the president and the prime minister would intervene in the situation immediately and contact the Turkish leadership on a pressing issue which is of great importance to Pakistan’s economy.
APTMA demands action on Turkish fabric duty
