Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan has gone to the United States to meet the US authorities for pursuing the objectives of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Reconstruction OpportunityZones (ROZs), officials said. President Bush, during his visit to Pakistan early this year, had announced that ROZs would be created in Pakistan, from where the export to the United States will be duty free. Officials said that Khan will impress upon the US authorities for establishment of ROZs in economically depressed areas of Pakistan and the earthquake-affected region of Kashmir in Pakistan. Duty free market access to the US for the products manufactured in ROZs will help stimulate industrial development in the region and provide job opportunities for the people, officials said. The commerce minister will also meet the US private sector and address the issue of the sensitivity of US textile lobby, which in the past has been repeatedly cited as the reason for not granting favorable market access to Pakistan. Officials said that this concern is not justified as Pakistan has less than 3% market share in US textile and clothing imports, which is insignificant.
