Pakistan to send delegation to US for tariff talks

PAKISTAN will send a delegation to the US in the coming weeks to negotiate new tariffs, the government said in an announcement before Donald Trump announced a delay to the measures.

Washington announced a 29 per cent duty on Pakistani goods last week as part of a blitz against trade partners that roiled global markets.

However, the US president said late Wednesday (9) that he would hold off their imposition for 90 days, though all countries would still face a baseline rate of 10 per cent.

Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif's office said late Wednesday that a delegation would go to the US.

A source from the Ministry of Commerce, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed on Thursday (10) that the visit would still go ahead.

"A high-level government delegation is scheduled to depart for Washington in the coming weeks to hold talks with US officials," the source said.

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, bilateral trade between Pakistan and the US totalled $7.3 billion, with Washington importing $5.1 billion worth of goods from Islamabad in 2024.

Cotton and textiles are among Pakistan's biggest exports.

The announcement came as a US delegation led by a State Department official Eric Meyer held talks with Sharif in Islamabad on Wednesday.

A statement from the prime minister's office said both sides expressed the desire to strengthen bilateral ties.

Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023, as a political crisis compounded an economic downturn and drove the nation's debt burden to terminal levels.

It was saved by a $7 billion bailout from the IMF and has enjoyed a degree of recovery, with inflation easing and foreign exchange reserves increasing.

Pakistan's strategic importance to the US has diminished since foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan and relations between Washington and Islamabad are now largely limited to counterterrorism cooperations.

(AFP)