Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday termed the trade deal struck between Pakistan and the United States a “win-win” situation for both countries.
“Today marks the culmination of the journey that we started a few months back,” said Aurangzeb in a video message released by the Ministry of Finance.
The finance minister shared that the authorities on both sides had “a very constructive final round of discussions, which then led to finalising the trade deal.”
Aurangzeb heads to US to finalise trade talks
The breakthrough was reached during a meeting of Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
Secretary of Commerce Jawad Paul and Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, were also present during the meeting.
“From our perspective, we were always going beyond the trade imperative,” said Aurangzeb, adding that trade and investments “have to go hand in hand”.
The finance minister lauded his economic team, including the role of the private sector, in reaching the trade deal.
Aurangzeb shared that investments in various sectors were discussed. “We will start with energy. Then there is mineral and mining, IT, and the new economy that we are talking about.”
“We are in a good place today in Pakistan, in terms of where we have arrived before August 1. We have come a long way in terms of our overall strategic partnership between Pakistan and the United States,” he said.
The remarks come after US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his administration struck a deal with Pakistan in which Washington would work with Islamabad in developing the South Asian nation’s oil reserves.
“We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves,” Trump wrote on social media.
“We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day!”
Pakistan faced a potential 29% tariff on exports to the United States under tariffs announced by Washington in April on countries around the world. Tariffs were subsequently suspended for 90 days so negotiations could take place.
Under Trump, Washington has attempted to renegotiate trade agreements with many countries that he threatened with tariffs over what he calls unfair trade relations. Many economists dispute Trump’s characterisation.
US total goods trade with Pakistan was an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, according to the website of the Office of the US Trade Representative, up from around $6.9 billion in 2023. The US goods trade deficit with Pakistan was $3 billion in 2024, a 5.2% increase over 2023.
