ISLAMABAD, JUL 11: Pakistan and the United States have made “significant progress” toward a reciprocal trade agreement after two days of talks in Washington, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said.

Taking to his official X account, Andrabi said negotiations on the Pakistan-United States Agreement on Reciprocal Trade were held in Washington, DC, on July 9 and 10.

He said the discussions were conducted in a “cordial atmosphere”, with both sides ironing out differences and building convergence with a view to the early conclusion of the agreement.

The FO spokesperson said Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul led the Pakistani delegation during the negotiations. Andrabi said that Paul described the talks as positive and appreciated the significant progress achieved during the negotiations.

He added that both sides remained engaged in efforts to finalise the reciprocal trade agreement at the earliest.

Besides Andrabi and Paul, the Pakistani delegation also included Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Nadeem Chaudhary and Joint Secretary Tariff Policy Ashfaq Khan. Officials from other ministries participated virtually, The News reported.

Pakistan and the US had reached a trade agreement in July last year ahead of President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline that resulted in the imposition of higher tariffs by Washington against various countries on a reciprocal basis.

“In a landmark development, Pakistan and the United States finalised a trade agreement today aimed at boosting bilateral trade, expanding market access, attracting investment, and fostering cooperation in areas of mutual interest,” the Pakistani embassy in the US had said last year.

It said that the agreement will result in a reduction of reciprocal tariffs, especially on Pakistani exports to the United States.

“Under the said understanding, Pakistan and the US will also focus on energy, minerals, information technology, cryptocurrency, and other key areas, ” it added.

Following negotiations between Pakistani officials and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Washington agreed to lower the proposed reciprocal tariff on Pakistani exports from 29% to 19%.

However, the arrangement was disrupted in February when the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the White House had overstepped its constitutional authority by imposing sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), effectively nullifying the policy.

The Trump administration later relied on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to introduce a temporary 10% global tariff for up to 150 days, a measure set to expire on July 24.