Pakistan, US agree to advance negotiations on reciprocal tariffs

Islamabad: Pakistan and the United States have agreed to advance negotiations on reciprocal tariffs through constructive engagement, aiming to finalise the trade deal at the earliest.

According to Radio Pakistan on Tuesday, the agreement was reached in a virtual meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday.

The discussions focused on meaningful engagement in trade, investment, and strengthening mutually beneficial economic ties.

“Both sides also agreed that further technical-level discussions would take place in the coming days, following a mutually agreed roadmap,” reported Radio Pakistan.

Pakistan has a USD 3 billion trade surplus with the US and faces a potential 29 per cent tariff on its exports to the US as announced in April by President Donald Trump as part of his plan to reduce trade deficit with countries around the world.

Separately, Finance Minister Aurangzeb at an event in Islamabad on Tuesday said Pakistan and the US were moving ahead to strengthen their strategic partnership.

The Finance Minister said he had a constructive and positive conversation with the US Commerce Secretary last night. “Both countries are moving in the right direction,” he said.

Aurangzeb also said the government will stay the course of reforms in taxation, energy and other sectors. “We have also carried out tariff reforms to move towards a competitive economy,” he said.