Chief US Agriculture Negotiator Doug McKalip expects some deliverables to emerge soon from yesterday’s meeting of the US-Pakistan Trade and Investment Council.
Pakistan is one of the smaller markets that the Administration is looking at to increase US agricultural exports, he told the Agriculture Department’s annual forum.
The TIFA meeting was chaired by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar.
The two ministers directed their teams to intensify discussions on issues and concerns regarding agriculture, digital trade, intellectual property protection and enforcement, labor rights, good regulatory practices and women’s economic empowerment.
The US side welcomed the substantive conclusion of technical work on market access for beef from the United States, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting. The ministers said that work to operationalize this arrangement would be expedited.
Both sides expressed their intent to enhance engagement on market access and the reduction of barriers for additional agricultural products. In addition, Pakistan welcomed the ongoing engagement on market access for its mangoes and fresh dates, and asked the United States to review additional market access requests for agricultural products once the current work is complete.
The two sides also discussed Pakistan’s efforts to improve worker rights and protections and strengthen its intellectual property regime.
The ministers issued a separate joint statement reflecting progress and commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Efforts to Empower Women and to Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship.
The TIFA Council will meet again next year in Islamabad.
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