Washington DC, 23 February 2023 (TDI): The United States (US) and Pakistan will hold their first Ministry-level meeting on trade in Washington today.
US’ Trade Representative (USTR), Ambassador Katherine Tai will host a meeting with Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce, Syed Naveed Qamar under the US-Pak Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
The Biden administration’s Chief Trade Administrator, Ambassador Doug McKalip, and Assistant United Trade Representative, Chris Wilson will also attend the meeting.
Minister for Commerce of Pakistan with a team of senior officials reached Washington DC on Tuesday for a three-day of talks on trade and investment.
Talking with a reporter, Minister Syed Qamar said, “We are looking for increased trade in information technology and agricultural goods.”
Pakistan has made several attempts to bring its agricultural goods to the American market but the lack of irradiation facilities at home has not allowed this trade to expand.
It is also to be noted that the US is the largest export market for Pakistani products, with a bilateral trade volume of $12 billion.
In 2022, Pakistan exported more than $5.9 billion worth of goods to the US and imported more than $3.17 Billion of goods from the US.
Earlier on Monday Pakistan urged US lawmakers to expedite legislation for the renewal of the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) programme for developing countries. As Pakistan is aiming to be among the top 10 beneficiaries of the programme.
Strengthening Pak-US bilateral ties
In 2022, Pakistan and the United States decided to revive the TIFA framework after eight years as a part of a greater effort to rebuild the relationship.
The previous round of TIFA talks between Pak-US focused on the new template of the Bilateral Investment Treaty. In which they establish the Center for Disease Control in Pakistan.
Also Read: Pak-US defense talks begin today
While in Washington, Minister Qamar said, “Pakistan wanted smooth, increased trade in information technology, computer programming services, and agricultural goods.
When we talk about trade, we’re talking about the entire spectrum, but we’re focusing on these things because that’s where things would start happening right away.”
As a part to strengthen bilateral ties earlier this month, the US and Pakistan held defense and security talks in which they also focused on strategic and economic ties, including the war on terrorism.
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