Pakistan, Aug. 16 -- Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal said on Friday that under the National Tariff Policy, duties on about 900 products would remain unchanged, while tariffs on 300 items - mostly not manufactured or available locally - had been reduced.

Responding to a calling attention notice during the Upper House session regarding duties on the import of over 300 tariff lines, including seafood, fruits, and vegetables, he said some tariffs were as high as 40 percent, which had now been lowered to facilitate imports for value-added production and general consumption. He said the reductions would be implemented in phases - with some changes effective in one year, others over two to four years, and certain items in five years - a...