USTR’s Office of South and Central Asian Affairs oversees development and implementation of U.S. trade policy and negotiation strategies for South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and the Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). The office also oversees U.S. trade policy for Iraq and Iran.
Responsibilities include managing the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) Cabinet-level bilateral trade dialogue, including coordinating the TPF’s four Working Groups (Agriculture, Intellectual Property Rights, Manufacturing, and Services and Trade in Goods) and the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG). Other areas of emphasis include leading the Trade and Investment Council Meetings under the U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs) with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq and the Central Asian states.
South and Central Asia Trade Summary
U.S. goods exports to South Central Asia in 2022 were $56.5 billion, up 15.3 percent ($7.5 billion) from 2021 and up 90 percent from 2012. U.S. goods imports from South Central Asia totaled $119.2 billion in 2022, up 24.6 percent ($23.5 billion) from 2021, and up 64 percent from 2012. U.S. exports to South Central Asia account for 2.7 percent of overall U.S. exports in 2022. The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Central Asia was $62.6 billion in 2022, a 34.4 percent increase ($16.0 billion) over 2021.
