Islamabad:
Pakistan has proposed a zero-taleral bilateral trade agreement with the United States, aimed at extending trade relations in several sectors, while the government welcomed President Donald Trump’s statement on trade improvement with Pakistan, sources announced on Thursday.
The sources told L’Express PK Press Club that the Pakistani government had proposed a bilateral agreement based on mutual interests, offering any rate on selected tariff lines. They added that Pakistan wanted to extend bilateral trade with the United States in several sectors.
In addition, the Minister of Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan, welcomed a recent declaration by President Trump concerning the improvement of trade with Pakistan, saying that it marked not only a new chapter in Pak-US links, but also showed the force of the economic and diplomatic position of Pakistan.
In an exclusive conversation with L’Express PK Press Club, the Minister said that despite the Pak-Indic tension, the American desire to increase trade relations with Pakistan reflected that the international community considered Pakistan as an economic partner.
“It is a positive signal for us that the United States considers Pakistan as an important trading partner,” the Minister told The Express PK Press Club. “After the Pakistani-Indian tension, Pakistan’s position has been reinforced. Now the United States takes Pakistan and India at the same level.”
On Saturday, during the summit of the military operation Bunyanum Marsoos – the adapted response to Pakistan to Indian assault on May 7 – the American president announced that Pakistan and India had accepted a cease -fire.
Trump, who is currently on tour of the Middle East, said on Thursday that hostilities between Pakistan and India had been installed, after having urged the two countries to focus on trade instead of war. Previously, he said that he would increase trade with the two nations.
Last month, Trump announced an increase in American prices on dozens of countries, including Pakistan. Jam Kamal said Washington currently considered prices as an obstacle in trade with Pakistan, which was a positive sign.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had already established a high -level committee on the tariff issue, led by finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. “This committee is working on various options in recent months and a half to develop a strategy to improve trade relations with the United States.”
The Minister said that the Committee is currently analyzing the factors, on the basis of which commercial engagement with the United States could be extended. “Pakistan wants to take full advantage of this opportunity, and the institutions concerned are fully prepared in this regard,” he added.
(With the contribution of Usama Iqbal)
