US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross reaches Islamabad

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday for an official visit to the country where he will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and other top officials.

According to the Pakistani Ministry of Commerce, the US secretary will meet Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and will discuss trade ties between the two countries.

According to the press release, the adviser will push the US secretary to grant access to Pakistani businessmen to the US markets. It added that Dawood will also ask Ross to convene a meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council as soon as possible.

Earlier today, Ross tweeted that he was looking forward to his meeting with PM Imran in Islamabad where he will discuss ways in which the two countries can boost trade and investment between the two countries.

“As President Trump said this week, ‘Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one.’ I look forward to meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad,” tweeted Ross.

The US secretary was part of President Donald Trump’s delegation to India and would make a brief stopover in Pakistan.

The visit comes after Donald Trump failed to strike any major trade deal with India at the end of a visit big on photo opportunities but short on substance.

Speaking after talks in New Delhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the US president said only that they had made “tremendous progress” towards a comprehensive agreement and that he was “optimistic we can reach a deal”.

While minor compared to his trade war with China, Trump has slapped tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium and suspended duty-free access for certain goods to cut the $25-billion US trade deficit with Asia´s third-biggest economy.

Under pressure to deliver ahead of elections in November, he has pressed for greater access to the vast Indian market of 1.3 billion people for US dairy producers, makers of medical goods and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. But Modi, who has a lot in common with Trump with his “Make in India” mantra echoing Trump’s “America First” slogan, has responded with higher tariffs on US goods including $600 million worth of Californian almonds.

Modi, speaking alongside Trump a day after they appeared together at a raucous rally in front of 100,000 people, said only that both sides “have agreed to start negotiating for a big trade deal”.