Pakistan finance minister due in US for ‘final' round of trade talks
Pakistan and the US have been engaged in talks after Washington announced a 29 percent 'reciprocal tariff' on Pakistani exports in April. Islamabad said the move, paused on April 9 for a 90-day period, may undercut its fragile, export-led recovery.
The US is Pakistan's top export destination, with shipments totaling $5.44 billion in fiscal year 2023-2024, according to official data. From July 2024 to February 2025, exports rose 10 percent from a year earlier.
The Pakistani finance ministry said the finalization of a trade agreement between Pakistan and the US will benefit both economies, noting opportunities for partnership between the two countries in various sectors.
'US is Pakistan's largest trading partner. Pakistan is keen to expand bilateral trade ties to traditional and non-traditional sectors,' it said.
'There are vast opportunities for partnership between the two countries in key sectors such as information technology, minerals and agriculture.'
This is Aurangzeb's second visit to the US this month. The finance minister last week said that Islamabad and Washington were exploring a shift in their economic engagement, anchored in long-term investment.
'One thing we discussed was that we have to move beyond the immediate trade imperative for it to be brought into the next level and bring in a real step change,' he said, following his meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington.
'So, the investment imperative will come forward, and areas have already been identified in terms of minerals and mining, in terms of AI [artificial intelligence], in terms of digital infrastructure [and] crypto,' Aurangzeb said.
'We feel that this will be a real game changer, God willing, in terms of the relationship and the economic relationship between Pakistan and the United States.'
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