Kabul, Islamabad PTA to be effective from August 1, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan are poised to sign the long-awaited Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which is scheduled to become operational on August 1, 2025, initially for one year, according to well-informed sources in the Ministry of Commerce.
The agreement—focused on duty-free bilateral trade in select fruits and dry fruits—marks a significant step forward in economic cooperation between the two neighboring countries. The current round of talks is being held in Islamabad to finalize the text of the agreement.
One of the main sticking points under previous Afghan administrations was their insistence on allowing Indian goods to transit through Pakistan into Afghanistan—a proposal Islamabad consistently declined.
Afghan Deputy Minister for Commerce and Industry Ahmadullah Zahid, along with a delegation of senior technical experts, arrived in Pakistan on Monday night to hold talks with the Ministry of Commerce officials regarding the PTA.
According to proposed draft PTA, recognizing the importance of facilitating bilateral trade between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Afghanistan (MoIC) and the Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan (MoC) agree to implement an Early Harvest Program (EHP) to enhance trade flows and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Article 1: Preferential Tariff Treatment: (i) the Contracting Parties—the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (“Afghanistan”) and the Government of Pakistan (“Pakistan”), hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Contracting Parties” and individually as a “Contracting Party”—agree to provide Preferential Tariff Concessions on a selected list of agricultural goods under the Early Harvest Program; and (ii) the concessions shall be implemented by reducing tariffs and duties on the following products originating in the respective territories and destined for the other: Afghanistan exports: tomatoes, grapes, apples, and pomegranates while Pakistan will export potatoes, kinnows, bananas and mangoes.
PTA rate (custom duties and others) on Afghan tomatoes will be 22 % (400,000 tons) whereas rate on grapes (230,000 tons), apples (100,000 tons) and pomegranates (100,000 tons) will be 27 per cent.
For Pakistani goods, PTA duties on potatoes will be 22 %( 400,000 tons) while duties on others(Kinnows)(100,000 tons), banana( 230,000) and mango ( 100,000 tons) will be 27 %.
Article 2: Development of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA): The Contracting Parties agree to initiate negotiations for a comprehensive Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) based on the performance of the Early Harvest Program and mutual satisfaction of both sides.
Article 3: Rules of Origin: The agricultural products listed above must be: (i) harvested, picked, or gathered in the exporting country ;(ii) wholly obtained, and (iii) accompanied by a Certificate of Origin issued by the designated authority of each country to qualify for preferential treatment.
Article 4: Certification; (i) for Pakistan, the Certificate of Origin shall be issued by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP); and (ii) for Afghanistan, the Certificate of Origin shall be issued by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC).
Article 5: Implementation Date: The Early Harvest Program shall be implemented starting 1st August 2025.
Article 6: Duration and Reciprocity: (i) the tariff concessions shall be granted for a period of one year, from 1st August 2025 to 31st July 2026 ;(ii) the program may be extended upon mutual agreement; and (iii) all concessions are to be based on reciprocity and parity.
Article 7: PTA Implementation Committee: a PTA Implementation Committee shall be formed to oversee the Early Harvest Program. It shall: (i) be led by MoIC (Afghanistan) and MoC (Pakistan) ;(ii) include representatives from Customs and Agriculture Ministries of both countries ;(iii) meet on a monthly basis, and ;(iv) be responsible for monitoring, evaluation, and recommending improvements to the program.
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