KARACHI: The Chief of the Economic Unit of Con­sulate General of United States Chad Miner met with Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Junaid Esmail Makda and other officials on Tuesday.

Both sides discussed the possibility of an expansion in trade and investment ties between the United States and Pakistan.

The two sides discussed removal of issues faced by Pakistani manufacturers exporting their products to the US can help stimulate bilateral trade and investment. The KCCI president highlighted that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a good opportunity for many US companies.

Makda pointed out the need for a bilateral free trade agreement between Islamabad and Washington to pave way for enhanced trade and investment ties. He further urged local manufacturers to take full advantage of the Generalised Systems of Preferences (GSP) opportunity keeping in view the withdrawal of GSP facility to India and Turkey.

“Under GSP, approximately 3,500 Pakistani products have been granted duty-free access to the US,” he said.

However, he lamented that the list did not include textile products. He expressed hope that Prime Minister Imran Khan will take up the issue with US authorities during his visit to the Washington next week.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2019