Pakistan delegation set to meet Trump administration, US says

Pakistan is seeking reprieve from the 29% reciprocal tariffs initially imposed by the Trump administration

A delegation from Pakistan is set to meet US officials in an effort to finalize a trade deal, according to US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

Bruce said in a daily press briefing on Wednesday that she will be participating. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is in the US for a United Nations Security Council event, according to its foreign office.

Pakistan is seeking reprieve from the 29% reciprocal tariffs initially imposed by the Trump administration. The South Asian nation, already the second-largest buyer of US cotton by value after China, has offered to boost imports of the crop as well as soybeans. The US is the largest export market for Pakistan.

Relations between Islamabad and Washington have been showing signs of improvement in recent months, with US President Donald Trump inviting Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir for rare talks at the White House. Dar’s visit is a sign of Pakistan’s growing influence in the multilateral arena as well as in its relations with the US, the foreign office said in a statement on July 19.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has also traveled to the US and held meetings with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington to finalize a trade deal, the finance ministry said in a statement on July 19.