Pakistan seeks to boost US imports, remove trade barriers to avoid tariffs

Pakistan is looking to increase purchases of U.S. goods, including cotton and soybeans, and eliminate non-tariff barriers to avoid high tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.

“It’s a bigger canvas that we are looking at in terms of engaging the U.S.,” Aurangzeb told Bloomberg News in an interview Monday. “We will constructively engage, and we will have a formal delegation coming in.”

The minister said Pakistan is in talks to dismantle non-trade barriers to allow more U.S. products into its markets. “We can also look at if there are any issues with respect to non-tariff discussion, whether there any onerous inspections at our end for U.S. products, we can obviously view that,” he said.

Pakistan is seeking relief from the 29% reciprocal tariffs Trump imposed. While those levies are paused until July, Pakistan plans to send a trade delegation to Washington in the coming months to narrow the trade gap.

The U.S. is Pakistan’s largest export market, with over $5 billion in annual exports as of 2024. Pakistan’s imports from the U.S. totaled $2.1 billion last year. Total bilateral trade in goods reached an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, with U.S. exports to Pakistan at $2.1 billion and imports from Pakistan at $5.1 billion. In 2023, two-way trade was $6.929 billion.

Aurangzeb, a close aide of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is in the U.S. for a nearly week-long trip to attend the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings. The former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker said Pakistan will seek more international capital to ensure sustainable growth.

“What we are looking for is how we get away from a boom and bust cycle which Pakistan has gone through and get on to a sustainable growth path,” he said.

Pakistan plans to debut its first Panda bond, worth $200 million to $250 million, likely in the fourth quarter of this year.

Last week, Fitch Ratings upgraded Pakistan’s credit rating, expressing confidence that the country will maintain reforms under its IMF loan program.

The finance minister also said Pakistan is open to foreign direct investment from U.S. firms in its newly opened minerals and mining sectors.