ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has left for his second visit to the United States in two weeks to finalize the trade deal with Washington, the Ministry in a statement revealed on late Monday night.
The trip comes after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the US and Pakistan were “very close” to a trade deal that could come within days, but comments from the US after Dar met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned no timeline.
“A final discussion on the Pakistan-US trade dialogue will take place during the visit,” Ministry statement said, adding that a trade agreement will benefit both countries.
Aurangzeb attended a meeting in the PM Office after which he was instructed to depart for Washington to strike a trade deal with the US. The Trump Administration had given a August 1 deadline; otherwise, they would implement a higher tariff against the countries on a reciprocal basis.
Earlier, the finance minister held a meeting with the US Chargé d’Affaires in the federal capital, and it seems that the trade negotiations between the sides have been finalised, and a formal announcement is expected anytime soon after the arrival of Pakistani high-ups in Washington DC.
The question arises if Pakistan grants giant IT platforms tax exemption on tax proceeds recently enacted under the Finance Act, then Islamabad would have to grant the same treatment to Chinese companies as well.
The negotiations, focused on reciprocal tariffs, are part of a broader push to reset economic ties at a time of shifting geopolitical alignments and Islamabad’s efforts to avoid steep US duties on exports.
Pakistan faces a 29% tariff on exports to the US under President Donald Trump’s measures to target countries with large trade surpluses with Washington. Pakistan’s surplus was around $3 billion in 2024.
To offset the imbalance and ease tariff pressures, Islamabad has offered to import more US goods, including crude oil, and to open up investment opportunities through concessions for US firms in Pakistan’s mining sector.
US-Pakistan relations enjoyed a major boost when Trump hosted Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month for an unprecedented meeting.
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