Pakistan Decides to Send High-Level Delegation to U.S. for Trade Talks and New Tariff Negotiations.
According to a statement issued by the media wing of the Prime Minister’s Office, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to review the country’s exports and the new tariffs imposed by the United States on imports.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ali Pervaiz Malik, PM’s Advisor Syed Tauqir Shah, Special Assistants Tariq Fatemi and Haroon Akhtar, PM’s Coordinator Rana Ehsan Afzal, and other senior officials.
It was decided in the meeting that a high-level delegation will be sent to the United States to hold talks on enhancing trade relations and addressing the issue of the new tariffs.
The Prime Minister instructed that prominent business personalities and exporters should be included in the delegation.
He tasked the delegation with formulating a mutually beneficial strategy for the future after conducting negotiations regarding the newly imposed U.S. tariffs.
Shehbaz Sharif said that the trade relations between Pakistan and the United States span decades, and the government is keen to further strengthen this partnership.
The Prime Minister was presented with the report of the steering committee and working group on the newly imposed U.S. tariffs and the proposed future strategy.
Various alternative strategies were also presented in the meeting, and it was informed that the Pakistani embassy in the U.S. is in constant contact with the American government.
Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the need to ensure the inclusion of prominent business figures and exporters in the delegation to be formed for negotiations with the U.S.
It is worth mentioning that on April 3, former President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on most imported goods into the U.S., along with significantly higher duties on dozens of rival and allied countries. This move escalated global trade tensions and posed a risk of rising inflation and economic slowdown.
An analysis of the tax formula introduced by the U.S. president shows that he imposed roughly half the tax on most countries compared to what they impose on the U.S.
In this context, while Pakistan imposes a 58% tariff on U.S. goods, the United States imposed a 29% tariff on Pakistani imports.
