Pakistan prepared for regional fallout, optimistic on US tariff talks: Aurangzeb

Amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday assured that Pakistan was well-prepared to navigate any potential fallout from regional instability.

Addressing at the “National Workshop on Transitioning to Defined Contribution Pension Schemes” being organised by SECP at Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, the finance minister informed that the government had a detailed meeting on Monday with all the stakeholders to “ensure that we have enough stocks, we have a good view on the pricing across asset classes and we are well prepared for any eventuality”.

“We are in a good place concerning the actions we might need to take, in case things go towards further escalation. I hope they don’t,” the finance minister assured.

Renewed strikes by Israel and Iran over the weekend increased concerns that the battle could widen across the region and significantly disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. To counter this, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday constituted a high-level committee to monitor petroleum product prices and supply dynamics amid regional tension.

On ongoing discussions on US tariffs, Aurangzeb informed that he had a “very constructive and positive” meeting with Howard Lutnick, the United States’ Commerce Secretary, on Monday.

“Both countries are moving towards the right direction, in terms of ensuring that Pakistan is in a good place on a competitive basis, when it comes to US tariffs, and more importantly, we continue to move forward in terms of the strategic partnership between Pakistan and the US,” he said.

Back in April, Trump ignited a potentially ruinous trade war as he slapped sweeping tariffs on imports from around the world and harsh additional levies on key trading partners, including Pakistan.

Islamabad is trying to appease the US to seek reprieve from the 29% reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Aurangzeb reiterated that the government intends to “stay the course” in terms of structural reforms revolving around energy, SOEs and taxation.

“This time around, we have done a fundamental reform around tariffs, and how we want to move the country towards a competitive economy and bring down the wall of protection, so that our export industry moves forward,” he said.

Aurangzeb said that the government is bringing down the cost of debt servicing. He shared that pension payments have crossed a trillion rupees, which is more than the federal government’s development budget.