*Commerce Minister says US has reduced tariff on Pakistani goods*
ISLAMABAD – The federal government has strongly denied reports suggestingthat Pakistan would suffer a $1 billion loss due to newly imposed UStariffs.
Federal Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal, clarified the matter whileaddressing the National Assembly on Wednesday. He stated that contrary tospeculation, the United States has actually reduced tariffs on Pakistaniproducts—from 29% to 19%.
According to the minister, this tariff reduction is expected to boost thepresence of Pakistani goods in the US market, particularly in the textilesector. “With lower tariffs, our textile exports are likely to see asignificant increase,” Jam Kamal told the assembly.
The National Assembly Speaker, however, expressed concern over the absenceof input from the Ministry of Finance on the issue. As a result, hesummoned the Finance Secretary to appear before the House.
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Further tightening oversight, the Speaker also instructed the Chairman ofthe Finance Committee to call both the Finance Secretary and the Governorof the State Bank of Pakistan for a detailed briefing. “If the Governor ofthe State Bank has to be summoned, we will do that as well,” the Speakerremarked.
The clarification from the commerce minister comes amid ongoing rumors thatUS tariffs could lead to a billion-dollar blow to Pakistan’s tradesector—claims now officially dismissed by the government.