ISLAMABAD, April 15: The United States Trade Representative's (USTR) annual report has appreciated progressive trade liberalization in Pakistan , but also urged for the early implementation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) laws in the country to attract foreign investment.

The recently released 2004 annual report documents foreign trade barriers to US exports. The report covers 58 countries in all. According to the report, a copy of which was released to the media by the commerce ministry here on Thursday, it recognized progressive trade liberalization in Pakistan, improvement in government procurement, fair use of sanitary, phyto-sanitary and environmental standards, progress in liberalizing services sector - banking, insurance and telecommunications and improved investment policy.

The report says that since 1998, Pakistan has progressively and substantially reduced tariffs. The government reduced all textile products from its "negative list". All textile products could now be imported into Pakistan.

The report mentioned that in order to protect IPRs, the Pakistani cabinet approved legislation, creating the Pakistan Intellectual Property Rights Organization (PIPRO).

In addition, the ministry of commerce has established an IPR advisory committee with the private sector and NGO participation. Further, Pakistan has expressed an interest in becoming a party to the Paris Convention for the protection of industrial property.

So far as services and telecommunication sectors were concerned, Pakistan has adopted fairly liberalized policies, the report said and added that similarly Islamabad had substantially complied with its WTO Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) commitments concerning local content rules.

The report stated that foreign investors were free to establish and own business enterprises in almost all sectors of the economy. The government's investment policy promises full re-patriation of capital, capital gains, dividends and profits with the approval of the State Bank of Pakistan. No restrictions exist on technology transfer. Pakistan has granted significant tax and duty incentives to two categories of industries:

"Priority Industries" that included tourism, housing and construction, and "Value Added Export Industries" that included manufacturing categories such as garments, bedlinen, surgical instruments and sporting goods.

The report also mentioned that Pakistan was encouraging electronic commerce. In 2002, the government enacted an Electronic Transaction Ordinance that adopted international standards and provided for the establishment of a certification authority. There were no duties or taxes on electronic commerce in Pakistan, the report added.