By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the US will launch trade negotiations next week, President Donald Trump said on Friday, as a potential 29 percent reciprocal tariff threatens Pakistan’s $5.44 billion export market.
The talks, followed by a call between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, aim to avert duties on Pakistan’s exports to the US, its biggest market, which have been paused for 90 days.
President Trump imposed steep tariffs on several countries in April, a policy that’s sparked concerns about fresh setbacks for a global economy still healing from the coronavirus pandemic. Pakistan, with a $3 billion trade surplus with the US, is among those in the crosshairs.
“As you know, we’re very close to making a deal with India,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews after stepping off Air Force One, signaling progress in separate trade negotiations that could reshape regional dynamics.
Pakistan shipped $5.44 billion in goods to the US in 2024, according to the country’s central bank, with exports hitting $4 billion from July to February of the current fiscal year, up 10% from the same period a year earlier.
Textiles dominate that flow, making up nearly 90% of the total, and analysts warn those would bear the brunt of any new duties. The stakes are high for Pakistan, where the US market underpins an economy already straining to regain its footing.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb called the talks as “both a challenge and an opportunity to reset trade ties”.
“Pakistan’s formal negotiations on US reciprocal tariffs kick-started between Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s Finance Minister, and Ambassador Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative through a telephonic/conference call on 30th May, 2025,” Aurangzeb’s ministry said a day earlier. “The two sides exchanged their viewpoint through a constructive engagement with the understanding that technical level detailed discussions would follow in the coming few weeks.”
The potential tariffs threaten more than just Pakistan’s bottom line. Experts have cautioned that if regional heavyweights like China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam pivot more exports to Europe to dodge US duties, Pakistan could face stiffer competition in alternative markets, squeezing its textile industry further.
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