Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has arrived in Washington on a three-day official visit and is anticipated to hold talks with US authorities on trade, investment, finance and broader economic cooperation.

Pakistan and the United States will restart talks Monday to boost economic ties between the two countries. Aurangzeb is due to see officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the US Export-Import Bank, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during his visit.

Talks will concentrate on a framework of a potential bilateral trade pact to boost trade and investment between the two countries. Tariffs, market access, investment opportunities and broader economic cooperation are scheduled to be discussed at talks.

The meetings with the US Export-Import Bank and DFC will also cover funding prospects for infrastructure, energy and private sector investment projects in Pakistan.

Aurangzeb’s visit comes as Washington and Islamabad resume talks over US tariffs on Pakistani exports. A visit to Washington by a Pakistani delegation earlier this month has resulted in the planned tariff rate being lowered from 29% to 19%.

The tariff structure has been altered by a US Supreme Court case that overturned duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The US administration then put in place a temporary 10% global duty under Section 122 of the Trade Act, which expires July 24.

Pakistan is also among roughly 60 nations being probed by USTR under Section 301 over suspected forced labour and associated trade violations. Ahead of the latest round of negotiations, Islamabad has filed detailed responses and a supplementary submission.

Besides the tariff problems, the two sides are also scheduled to discuss ways to boost bilateral commerce and attract more investment.

Earlier this year, Aurangzeb visited Washington for the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, where he discussed Pakistan’s economic reform agenda, macroeconomic stability and plans to return to international capital markets through Panda Bonds and Eurobonds with international financial institutions, investors and US officials.

Despite the most recent increase in the cost of fuel, the Petroleum Division has determined to keep the existing petroleum charge on petrol, diesel and kerosene. This decision was communicated through a notification.

The statement states that the petroleum duty has not altered from its previous levels of Rs80 per litre for petrol, Rs70.82 per litre for high-speed diesel and Rs20.36 per litre for kerosene.

In accordance with the new daily pricing method, the government has declared that the prices of petroleum will be adjusted and will continue to be in place for a period of three days.

As a result of the most recent revision, the price of high-speed diesel has increased by Rs31.05 per litre, bringing the new retail price to Rs354.35 per litre.

The price of fuel has also been increased by Rs5.44 per litre, and the new rate is Rs316.15 a litre. This represents a significant increase.

In the meantime, the price of kerosene oil has increased by Rs34.33 per litre, leading to an increase in the price from Rs242.33 per litre to Rs276.66 per litre.

In accordance with the recently implemented daily petroleum pricing procedure, which was recently enacted by the government, the prices of fuel will henceforth be evaluated and notified on a daily basis.

In the current fuel price revision, Pakistan has increased the costs of petrol and high-speed diesel. Petrol prices have been hiked by Rs5.44 per litre while diesel prices have seen a far higher increase of Rs31.50 per litre.

The steep jump comes against the backdrop of surging worldwide energy prices with the administration also planning a substantial revamp of the country’s petroleum pricing regime.

The new fuel prices are effective immediately and are in response to increasing pressure from global oil markets where energy prices have increased in recent weeks as regional tensions have built up.

OGRA to release fuel prices on daily basis under new cabinet decision

The decision comes as the federal cabinet authorised a new system under which the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) would determine petroleum prices on a daily basis instead of the existing periodic pricing method.

Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik announced the decision during a joint press conference with Federal Minister for Information Atta Tarar. Malik said the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet have decided that OGRA will now determine the prices of petroleum products on a daily basis as per the developments in foreign markets.

Under the new approach, the regulator would determine revised fuel prices on a daily basis and publish them on its official website, enabling domestic prices to more closely reflect changes in world oil markets.

The minister for petroleum indicated that the government had deliberately reduced its participation in establishing fuel prices and that OGRA had assumed increasing responsibility for pricing in line with existing international market circumstances.

“We are once again witnessing rising tensions in the region that are putting a lot of upward pressure on international energy markets,” he said.

But Malik said international prices of diesel had soared from $110 a barrel to $140 a barrel, demonstrating the extent of the growth and the steep increase in global energy costs.

He also thanked the public for their patience during the current economic troubles stating residents have proved to be resilient during a tough time.

OGRA will keep an eye on international market movements, calculate petroleum product prices on a daily basis and inform the public of the revised rates on its website, in one of the biggest changes to Pakistan’s fuel pricing system in recent years, with the new policy now approved by the cabinet.