Key trade, tariff and customs terms explained in plain language, so you can use PTAD with or without a trade background.
The Preferential Trade Access Database, an online system that shows the preferential (reduced) tariffs and conditions Pakistan has agreed with partner countries, so exporters and importers can see the duty advantages available to them.
In PTAD: This portal. PTAD is an information and guidance tool, not a legal or customs authority. Always verify before a commercial decision.
Trade that enjoys lower tariffs than normal because two or more countries have signed an agreement giving each other better-than-standard treatment.
The advantage a product gets, a reduced or zero tariff, when it qualifies under a trade agreement, compared with the standard tariff everyone else pays.
In PTAD: PTAD’s whole purpose is to show this access, arrangement by arrangement.
A country that receives better tariff treatment under an agreement or scheme. Pakistan is a beneficiary under several GSP schemes.
A formal understanding between countries setting out the tariff concessions and rules they grant each other. PTAD currently covers 29 such arrangements.
In PTAD: Each arrangement is a “module” in PTAD.
A deep agreement in which two or more countries remove tariffs on most goods traded between them, usually phased over several years.
In PTAD: e.g. China–Pakistan FTA, Malaysia–Pakistan FTA, Sri Lanka–Pakistan FTA.
A lighter agreement in which countries grant reduced tariffs on a selected list of products, rather than on nearly all goods.
In PTAD: e.g. Iran, Indonesia, Mauritius, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Türkiye PTAs.
An agreement among countries of a region to give each other preferential tariffs.
In PTAD: e.g. SAFTA, SAPTA (South Asia).
An agreement among many countries across regions, often among developing nations.
In PTAD: e.g. D-8, GSTP, PTN.
A scheme in which a developed country unilaterally (on its own, without a two-way deal) grants lower tariffs to imports from developing countries, to help their exports.
In PTAD: Pakistan benefits from GSP schemes of the EU, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Türkiye and the EAEU.
An enhanced tier of the EU’s GSP giving extra tariff cuts to countries that ratify and implement international conventions on human rights, labor, environment and good governance. Pakistan is a GSP+ beneficiary.
A single economic bloc of five countries (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia) that applies one common external tariff; its GSP scheme is treated as one module covering all five.
A tariff cut granted by one country to another with nothing required in return (the basis of all GSP schemes).
Bilateral = between two countries. Multi-country = among several members (as in SAPTA, GSTP, PTN, D-8).
An internationally standard numbering system used by customs worldwide to classify traded products. Every product has an HS code; the first 6 digits are the same in all countries, and countries add more digits for detail.
In PTAD: You search PTAD by HS code to find a product’s preferential tariffs.
A single product entry in a tariff schedule, identified by its HS code and description.
The HS code is tiered: 2 digits = chapter (broad group), 4 digits = heading, 6 digits = subheading, then national detail. “Chapter 08” is edible fruit and nuts, for example.
The product code used in older agreements that predate the HS system. It identifies products but does not follow modern HS numbering.
In PTAD: Used in PTN and GSTP, which were concluded before the HS existed.
A finer breakdown of a tariff line used for trade statistics; it carries the same duty as the main line above it.
In PTAD: Seen in some GSP schedules (e.g. New Zealand, Australia).
Converting a product’s code from one HS version or national format to another (e.g. a 12-digit Turkish code to Pakistan’s 8-digit code).
A tax charged on a product when it is imported into a country. Usually a percentage of the product’s value.
The standard tariff a country applies to imports from all WTO members that do not have a special agreement, the “normal” rate before any preference.
The tariff used as the starting point in an agreement, the MFN/applied rate at the time the agreement was signed (or, for GSP, when the schedule was prepared). It is a fixed historical baseline, not today’s live MFN.
In PTAD: PTAD shows the Base Rate so you can see the saving the preference gives.
The reduced tariff a product pays when it qualifies under the agreement, the whole point of preferential trade.
The rate that actually applies after the agreement’s treatment, whether a full cut, a partial cut, or none.
In PTAD: Replaces the older label “Outcome”; always accurate, even when no reduction applies.
The saving a preference gives: the Base Rate minus the preferential rate. A larger margin means a bigger competitive edge.
In PTAD: PTAD shows this so you can judge whether the preference is worth using.
A duty charged as a percentage of the product’s value (e.g. 10%).
A duty charged as a fixed amount per unit (e.g. Rs. 20 per kilogram) rather than a percentage.
No tariff at all, the most favorable outcome.
A duty combining a percentage and a fixed amount, or where the greater/lesser of the two applies.
Some countries build the total duty from several parts, for example Customs Duty (CD), Additional Customs Duty (ACD), Regulatory Duty (RD) and other levies. A concession may reduce some parts and not others.
In PTAD: Seen in Türkiye and Uzbekistan schedules.
Reducing a tariff gradually over several years rather than all at once, until it reaches its final (often zero) level.
In PTAD: China and Türkiye agreements are phased; PTAD shows the rate for the year you select.
The percentage by which a tariff is cut from its base level under an agreement (e.g. a 20% margin means the duty is 20% lower than the base rate).
A set quantity of a product that can be imported at the preferential (low) tariff; once that quota is used up, the normal higher tariff applies to further imports.
In PTAD: Seen in Mauritius and Sri Lanka schedules.
A list of products excluded from preferential treatment. In a negative-list agreement, the listed products are the ones that do NOT get a concession.
In PTAD: SAFTA uses a sensitive (negative) list.
An agreement where only the products specifically listed receive preferences (the opposite of a negative list).
Some agreements give deeper cuts to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) than to other members, so a product may have two preferential rates depending on the exporting country’s status.
In PTAD: Seen in SAPTA.
How much of an agreement’s tariff information PTAD holds directly: full (all lines), partial (some, with links for the rest), or links-only (verification links instead of lines).
Whether a specific product qualifies for a preference under an arrangement’s rules.
The conditions a product must meet to count as “made in” an exporting country, so it can claim the preferential tariff. They stop goods from merely passing through a country to get the benefit.
In PTAD: Each PTAD module has a Rules of Origin section.
An official document proving a product meets the rules of origin, presented to customs to claim the preference.
The evidence (such as a certificate of origin or, in some schemes, an origin declaration) that a product qualifies as originating, required to claim the preferential tariff.
A common rule of origin requiring that a minimum percentage of a product’s value be added in the exporting country for it to qualify.
An origin rule met when processing in the exporting country changes the product’s HS code from that of its imported materials.
Products entirely produced in one country (e.g. crops grown or minerals mined there), which automatically meet origin rules.
The practical steps, forms, certification, endorsements, an exporter follows to claim a preference at the border.
In PTAD: A dedicated section in each PTAD module.
The papers required for a preferential shipment (certificate of origin, invoices, declarations, etc.).
A rule requiring goods to be shipped directly from the exporting to the importing country (or only transit without entering trade elsewhere) to keep their preferential origin.
PTAD’s name for one agreement’s complete information set, its tariffs, rules of origin, procedures and guidance.
In PTAD: There are 25 agreement modules plus the Navigator.
A PTAD tool that lets you pick a country and instantly see every preferential arrangement available with it.
The core section of a module showing, product by product, the base and preferential tariffs.
A module section offering practical commentary on exporting to that market.
An official external source (government or customs website) linked from PTAD so you can confirm a rate or rule at its authentic origin.
The legal or official document a tariff line or rule is drawn from (e.g. a government notification or agreement annex).
PTAD’s notice that its information is guidance only and must be verified against official sources before any commercial decision.
In PTAD: Shown throughout the portal for your protection.
PTAD is an information and guidance tool, not a legal or customs authority. Always verify against official sources before a commercial decision.