Countries under the South Asian Free Trade Area

The Agreement on the South Asian Free Trade Area is an agreement reached at the 12th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit at Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on 6 January 2004. It creates a framework for the creation of a free trade zone covering 1.4 billion people in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives.The seven foreign ministers of the region signed a framework agreement on SAFTA with zero customs duty on the trade of practically all products in the region by end 2012. The SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA), with concessional duty on sub-continent trade, went into force on January 1, 1996. The new agreement i.e. SAFTA, came into being on 1 January 2006 and will be operational following the ratification of the agreement by the seven governments. SAFTA requires the developing countries in South Asia, that is, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to bring their duties down to 20 percent in the first phase of the two year period ending in 2007. In the final five year phase ending 2012, the 20 percent duty will be reduced to zero in a series of annual cuts. The least developing country group in South Asia consisting of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives, gets an additional three years to reach zero duty. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 44 KB)Member countries of SAARC File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 44 KB)Member countries of SAARC File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Membership 8 member states 4 observers Secretariat Headquarters Kathmandu Established December 8, 1985 Secretary General Chenkyab Dorji Official website http://www. ... Islamabad (Urdu: اسلام آباد, abode of Islam), is the capital city of Pakistan, and is located in the Potohar Plateau in the northwest of the country. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A free trade zone (FTZ) or export processing zone is one or more areas of a country where tariffs and quotas are eliminated and bureaucratic requirements are lowered in order to attract companies by raising the incentives for doing business there. ... 2012 (MMXII) will be a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement(SAPTA) was signed on 11 April 1993 and entered into force on 7 December 1995 , with the desire of the Member States of SAARC(India, Pakistan,Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives) to promote and sustain mutual trade and economic cooperation... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• • Free Trade
  • Trade barrier
  • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
  • List of international trade topics
  • Anti-globalization
  • Agricultural subsidies

Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ... A trade barrier is general term that describes any government policy or regulation that restricts international trade, the barriers can take many forms, including: Import duties Import licenses Export licenses Quotas Tariffs Subsidies Non-tariff barriers to trade Most trade barriers work on the same principle: the imposition of some... Map of NAFTA President Clinton signs the agreement. ... International trade - an overview Absolute advantage Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) APEC Autarky Balance of trade barter Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) Bimetallism branch plant Bretton Woods Conference Bretton Woods system British timber trade Cash crop Comparative advantage Continental trading bloc Cost, insurance and freight Currency... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

External links

• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
• South Asian Free Trade Area
• SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement