The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has published its annual report on obstacles to foreign trade, listing Pakistan’s trade and investment policies, Internet restrictions and corruption, among others, disturbing commercial operations.
The USTR office has published the 2025 national trade estimation report two days two days before the deployment of the Trump administration reciprocal prices. This is the 40th report of an annual series which highlights significant foreign obstacles to American exports, foreign direct investments and electronic commerce.
The day was described as “release day” by Trump, who signed an executive decree imposing a flat rate at 10% on almost all nations, then additional prices in the countries that the United States accuses of higher levies from American goods.
The Trump administration imposed a 29% tariff on Pakistani imports, in addition to a reference rate of 10% applied to all imports, passing the total price on Pakistani products at 39%.
In his remarks, President Trump said: “Pakistan invoiced a 58% rate on our goods. Consequently, we impose a 29% tariff on their products.”
The USTR report has divided commercial barriers into several categories, including import policies, technical obstacles, service barriers and electronic commerce.
The report mentioned that Pakistan regularly blocks access to Internet services for content accommodation deemed blasphemous or immoral, or on the grounds that these services can be used to “undermine national security”.
“By virtue of the Act on the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA), Pakistan regularly blocks platforms or requests for whole social networks that sites geo-burning publications considered illegal online content.”
A bill on electronic security and creation awaiting a digital rights protection authority and the National Center for Cyber ​​Investigations would increase financial and criminal sanctions associated with online speech, he noted.
“Pakistan has repeatedly suspended access to mobile data and certain online services in major cities in response to planned protests, large -scale demonstrations and other disorders perceived.
According to the report, American companies have cited the concerns that Pakistan has imposed high rate rates and, in some cases, additional tasks, products such as cars and finished products.
The report also indicated that American exporters in Pakistan are faced with a non -uniform customs assessment, excessive documentation requirements and penalties due to obsolete billing rules, adding charges of compliance.
“American companies have declared that they were negatively affected by customs rules 389 and 391. The customs rule 389 requires the placement of a physical liquette and the packaging list in the shipping container, while the customs rule 391 places responsibility for including these documents and the responsibility for not complying, on the owner of the goods and the transporter.
“Such rules pose challenges of compliance for companies that use intermediaries, reinvolution or storage of goods at various times during transit,” read the report.
He said that American companies are faced with exchange restrictions and bureaucratic obstacles to Pakistan, which makes them difficult to repatriate profits and dividends, “generally coinciding with the government put on the outings of US dollars.” However, the conditions improved in 2024 “as the position of Pakistan balances payments stabilized”.
The report added that US companies have undergone increased pressure from the Federal Board of Return (FBR), Pakistan’s Tax Recatching Authority, to compete in the expected tax obligations and “have expressed their concern that many of their local competitors still do not pay taxes or engage in tax evasion”.
“The US government has been committed several times to the Pakistani government on issues involving unfair and disproportionate taxation of American companies and continues to strengthen the importance of the enlargement of Pakistan to the widening of its tax base,” he said.
The report revealed that Pakistan remains on the United States special surveillance list due to the application of low intellectual property (IP), growing counterfeiting and incoherent decisions of IP courts.
“Although Pakistan has made progressive improvements to better coordination of its IP application efforts and to update its intellectual property laws, serious concerns remain, in particular in the field of IP application,” he said.
In addition, the report addressed the controversial question of Pakistani technical obstacles in the packaging and labeling of imported food products, in particular vegetable oils. American exporters have faced significant challenges due to the strict Halal certification requirements of Pakistan and its 66%storage period, which continue to create difficulties and operational difficulties for businesses.
In addition, the report indicated that US companies also found that corruption and a low judicial system as “substantial deterrence” to foreign investment in Pakistan.
