FM Dar arrives in Washington to negotiate 29% tariffs

Defence affairs

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has arrived in Washington DC, where he is scheduled to meet his US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at the Department of State.

They will discuss important facets of Pak-US relations exploring ways and means to strengthen bilateral ties, with a particular focus on promoting trade, investment and economic cooperation, state-run media Radio Pakistan reported.

The deputy prime minister is also scheduled to speak at the US think tank, The Atlantic Council, sharing Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global issues as well as the future of Pak-US relations.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh and senior embassy officials received Dar at the train station in the US capital.

During his week-long visit, Dar attended high-level signature events of Pakistan’s UN Security Council (UNSC) presidency in New York, while he met UN Secretary General António Guterres, on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, as well.

A day ago, Bloomberg, quoting US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce as saying, reported that a Pakistani delegation will soon meet the administration of US President Donald Trump in a bid to reach an agreement on a trade deal.

In a US Department of State press briefing on Wednesday, Bruce said she will attend the meeting between the Pakistani delegation and US officials.

Islamabad is looking forward to the 29% reciprocal tariffs to be lifted that the Trump administration levied initially, Bloomberg said. The South Asian country has proposed to increase imports of soybeans and cotton, while it already is the second-largest buyer of US cotton by value, after China. Whereas, Pakistan’s biggest export destination is the United States.

Bilateral ties between Pakistan and US have improved in recent times, with Trump’s holding a rare meeting with Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House.