ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Finance and Revenue Bilal Azhar Kayani said on Thursday Pakistan expected a significant boost in exports to the United States following successful trade negotiations that convinced President Donald Trump’s administration to lower tariffs on Pakistani products to 19%.
Pakistan and the United States finalized a trade agreement last week under which 19% tariff was imposed on a wide range of Pakistani goods. The new rate marked a considerable reduction from the initially proposed 29% under a sweeping executive order signed by Trump.
Islamabad had pushed for a lower tariff than its regional competitors, including Vietnam, which now faces a 20% tariff, and India, whose exports were hit with an additional 25% levy a day earlier over continued imports of Russian oil.
“The trade deal that has just been finalized with America has resulted in us getting a 19% tariff, the lowest tariff in the South Asia region,” Kayani told lawmakers in the National Assembly. “This, God willing, will certainly lead to an increase in our exports.”
He emphasized the US was already Pakistan’s largest export destination.
