Pakistan says held productive trade talks in Washington
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said it held productive trade talks with the US in Washington on Friday to advance economic cooperation, according to a statement from the South Asian country's finance ministry. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the statement said.
'Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in enhancing trade and economic ties, a cornerstone of Pakistan-US bilateral relations,' the statement added. It said Aurangzeb emphasized that the US remained Pakistan's largest trading partner. Both sides expressed optimism that ongoing trade talks would yield positive outcomes, benefiting the economies of both countries, the finance ministry said. Pakistan was optimistic that the trade talks would conclude in a week's time after a virtual meeting between Aurangzeb and Lutnick late last month.
The negotiations, focused on reciprocal tariffs, are part of a broader push to reset economic ties at a time of shifting geopolitical alignments and Pakistan's efforts to avoid steep US duties on exports.
Pakistan faces a 29 percent tariff on exports to the US under President Donald Trump's measures to target countries with large trade surpluses with the US. Pakistan's surplus was around $3 billion in 2024. To offset the imbalance and ease tariff pressures, Islamabad has offered to import more US goods, including crude oil, and to open up investment opportunities through concessions for US firms in Pakistan's mining sector. US-Pakistan relations saw a major boost when Trump hosted Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month in an unprecedented meeting. – Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
8 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Tunisia prez shows Trump adviser pics of hungry Gaza kids
CARTHAGE: Tunisian President Kais Saied shows Massad Boulos, senior adviser to the US president for Africa, pictures of starving children in Gaza during their meeting at the presidential palace on July 22, 2025. — AFP TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied presented US counterpart Donald Trump's senior Africa adviser with photographs of starving children in Gaza, official video of their meeting posted late Tuesday showed. Saied told US envoy Massad Boulos, who is also the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, that 'it is time for all of humanity to wake up and put an end to these crimes against the Palestinian people'. 'I believe you know these images well,' Saied was seen telling the envoy as he showed a photograph of what he described as 'a child crying, eating sand in occupied Palestine'. Saied showed Boulos several more images, saying that Palestinians in Gaza were subjected to crimes against humanity. 'It is absolutely unacceptable,' Saied was heard saying as Boulos stood silently, occasionally nodding. 'It is a crime against all of humanity.' Following his visit to Tunisia, Boulos flew on to the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday, Tunisian media reported. — AFP
Kuwait Times
8 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Houthi cargo ship attacks amount to war crimes: HRW
HODEIDA: People displaced by conflict gather to top up their jerrycans with water drawn from a well at a makeshift camp in Hays, south of Hodeida in eastern Yemen.— AFP BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch on Wednesday condemned Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels for deadly attacks that sank two commercial vessels this month, calling them violations of the laws of war. The Houthis struck the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo ships in the Red Sea, part of a campaign against maritime traffic they accuse of having links to Zionist entity, launched over the Gaza war. Fifteen people—including four confirmed dead—remain missing after the July 7 attack on the Eternity C. The Yemeni rebels claimed to have 'rescued' an unspecified number of crew, whose whereabouts are still unknown. The attacks were 'violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes', Human Rights Watch said in a statement, adding it found 'no evidence that the ships were military targets'. 'They deliberately attacked commercial vessels that could clearly be identified as civilian,' the New York-based group said, adding that 'detaining rescued crew members is also prohibited'. Rebel leader Abdel Malek Al-Houthi justified the attacks, saying both ships belonged to companies serving Zionist ports. But HRW said the ships had no connection to Zionist entity and were not heading there. The Magic Seas was en route to Turkey from China carrying fertiliser and steel billets when it was attacked on July 6. The Eternity C was heading to Saudi Arabia from Somalia after delivering humanitarian aid for the United Nations World Food Programme. 'The Houthis have sought to justify unlawful attacks by pointing to Israeli violations against Palestinians,' said Niku Jafarnia, HRW's Yemen and Bahrain researcher. 'The Houthis should end all attacks on ships not taking part in the conflict and immediately release the crew members in their custody,' she added. Since November 2023, the rebels have carried out more than 100 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by a Western naval coalition. HRW said it had previously found those actions to be war crimes.– AFP It also warned of environmental risks, citing findings by Wim Zwijnenburg of Dutch peace organization PAX. Zwijnenburg said satellite imagery showed large oil slicks trailing from the sites where both vessels sank, threatening wildlife in a protected nature reserve off Eritrea's coast. Oil was also reportedly washing ashore near a fishing community, he was quoted as saying. – AFP
Kuwait Times
8 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
EU, Japan vow joint push for ‘fair' global trade
TOKYO: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) and Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attend a joint press briefing after their meeting during the EU-Japan Summit at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on July 23, 2025. — AFP TOKYO: The EU and Japan pledged on Wednesday to work together on championing a 'free and fair' trade global system, as US tariffs and disputes with China rattle their economies. Brussels and Tokyo announced a 'competitiveness alliance' to increase bilateral trade, address unfair practices, and boost innovation, at a summit in the Japanese capital. 'In today's world, competitiveness has to be built with trusted partners such as Japan,' European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen told journalists after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. 'Together, Europe and Japan represent a fifth of global GDP and a market of 600 million people,' she added. 'So, we have the scale to shape global rules on trade and tech in line with our values of fairness and openness.' Facing a swirl of speculation over his future following a weekend election debacle, Ishiba said the EU and Japan concurred to work together to strengthen a 'stable and predictable rules-based free and fair economic order'. Von der Leyen congratulated the prime minister on his 'successful negotiations' to secure a tariff deal with Washington, a feat that has so far escaped the European Commission she leads. US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a 'massive' trade deal with Japan, as a deadline looms for the EU and other major US trade partners to strike agreements or face steep levies. Tokyo said the deal would see a tariff on Japanese car cut to 15 percent. The EU's top trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic is due to speak once again to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later on Wednesday. Von der Leyen's commission, the EU's top executive body, is in charge of trade policy for the 27-nation bloc. 'In a world of growing uncertainty, we are also stepping up joint efforts to boost economic security and resilience,' Antonio Costa told journalists in Tokyo. Costa heads the European Council representing EU member states. He said the EU and Japan—who back Ukraine in its war with Russia—would push to deepen cooperation between their defence industries. Costa and von der Leyen will visit Beijing next for talks with China's top leaders on Thursday. Beijing and Brussels will mark the 50th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic ties. But differences over state subsidies, market access and China's support for Russia are set to overshadow the event. –AFP
