Reciprocal tariffs: Pakistan, US agree to wrap up negotiations next week

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have agreed to wrap up technical-level negotiations regarding reciprocal tariffs next week.

The development came during a virtual meeting between Aurangzeb and Lutnick on US reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday, read a statement released by the Finance Division on Wednesday.

“Both sides showed satisfaction on the ongoing negotiations and resolved to conclude the trade negotiations next week.

“It was also resolved that further to the trade agreement, a partnership, based on strategic and investment interests, would be concluded in due course covering areas of mutual interest,” read the statement.

During the meeting, the discussion focused on meaningful engagement in trade, investment and deepening economic ties mutually beneficial to both sides, with technical-level trade-related discussions to be concluded next week.

Both sides expressed confidence in concluding trade negotiations at the earliest, it added.

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 attempting to appease the US to seek reprieve from the 29% reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. While those levies are on hold until July, Pakistan has sent a trade delegation to Washington to bridge the trade gap.

The US is Pakistan’s largest export market with over $5 billion in annual exports as of 2024, while Pakistan’s imports from the US are about $2.1 billion.

Earlier, Muhammad Aurangzeb, in an interview with Bloomberg, said Pakistan is looking to buy more goods from the US and remove non-tariff barriers to escape Trump’s high tariffs.