Pakistan and the United States are inching closer to resolving key trade issues, as top-level virtual talks on Monday signaled renewed momentum in bilateral economic ties. The meeting, held between Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, focused on finding a pathway to finalize a long-awaited trade agreement and ease lingering tariff tensions.
According to a statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance, both sides committed to “constructive engagement” to deepen trade and investment cooperation. The officials agreed to follow a mutually agreed roadmap and to hold technical-level discussions in the coming days to hammer out the finer details of the deal.
The revival of dialogue comes amid Pakistan’s effort to roll back the 29% reciprocal tariffs imposed during Donald Trump’s presidency. Those tariffs, which were part of the former U.S. president’s broader protectionist campaign, remain suspended until July, giving Islamabad a narrow window to secure favorable terms before the freeze expires.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called the renewed engagement a sign of a “new era” in Pakistan-U.S. relations, emphasizing economic diplomacy as a cornerstone of his foreign policy. With Washington being Pakistan’s largest export destination—accounting for over $5 billion in exports last year—the stakes are high. In contrast, Pakistan imported around $2.1 billion worth of goods from the U.S., highlighting a trade imbalance Islamabad is keen to address.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb, speaking to Bloomberg earlier, said Pakistan is actively looking to expand its imports from the U.S. and remove non-tariff barriers as part of its strategy to ease Washington’s tariff concerns. The renewed dialogue appears to be a calculated effort to build trust, secure market access, and stabilize Pakistan’s external trade environment at a critical economic juncture.
If successful, the upcoming negotiations could reshape the future of Pakistan-U.S. trade relations, shifting them from confrontation to collaboration.
