ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s commerce ministry has finalized a strategy for a recently negotiated tariff deal with the United States that Islamabad says could unlock American investment in the country’s vast copper reserves, and submitted it to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for approval, an official said on Tuesday.
The agreement, announced last month by US President Donald Trump, set a reduced tariff rate of 19 percent on Pakistani imports, the government says is the lowest in the region and will help revive bilateral trade while paving the way for US firms to participate in Pakistan’s mines and minerals sector.
The South Asian nation ranks fifth globally in copper deposits, with major sites in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa positioning it as a potential major supplier to international markets.
“The commerce ministry has formulated a strategy for the tariff deal, which includes US investment in the mines and minerals sector, particularly copper, and forwarded it to the Prime Minister’s Office,” Naveed Kallu, a public relations officer at the ministry, told Arab News. “The final decision will be made by the prime minister and after approval further work will proceed as per that strategy.”
