Exports to US grow to $6.3b in 2024

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Atif Ikram Sheikh has said the US is one of the few countries in the world with which Pakistan enjoys a bilateral trade surplus, and Pak-US trade volume crossed the $7 billion mark in 2023 and continues to increase in 2024 as it has crossed $6.3 billion in the first 10 months.

"From the perspective of the business, industry and trade community, we believe that this volume can potentially be doubled within a short span of a few years, given the demand for Pakistani products in the US, surging information technology exports and anticipated diversification of Pakistani export basket for the US," he said, according to a statement released by the FPCCI on Tuesday.

Ambassador of Pakistan to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh stressed that Pakistan has a very large and influential diaspora of 1 million Pakistani-Americans in the US, Pakistan is the largest importer of American cotton in the world, 40,000 Pakistani doctors are working in America, 5,000 Pakistani nursing staff will soon be exported to the US and pharmacists are expected to follow.

He said the US considers Pakistan as a strategic partner, bilateral defence ties remain strong and the US continues to be one of the top countries from where Pakistan receives foreign remittances.

Ambassador Sheikh explained that the economies of California and Texas are the world's fourth and sixth largest respectively, and things which seem impossible in political diplomacy can be achieved in economic diplomacy, and "that is where our emphasis is."

The FPCCI president said the US GSP programme may be renewed and expanded, and Pakistani exporters should remain agile and committed to making full use of the opportunities the enormous export market of the US has to offer.

He said that 55% of Pakistani exports to the US comprise textiles, however, other sectors are catching up as IT exports to the US have crossed the $1 billion mark.