Acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday met with senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mohammad Reza Bahrami Taqanaki for talks on bilateral relations, water issues, Afghan refugees and recent developments.

According to a statement issued by Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, Muttaqi told the Iranian official that bilateral relations were expanding and emphasized that both countries should make the most of the existing opportunities.

Bahrami Taqanaki, who is Iran’s new Assistant Minister and Director General for South Asian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, said in turn that after the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Kabul, a new chapter in bilateral relations has opened up.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appointed Bahrami Taqanaki, a seasoned diplomat with extensive experience in regional affairs, to the post in February.

Bahrami Taqanaki has served two terms as Iran’s ambassador to Afghanistan. He also held key consular positions, serving as Iran’s Consul General in Jalalabad during the Islamic Emirate’s previous rule and in Kandahar in 2002.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a range of tariffs targeting almost all countries that the United States trades with including Afghanistan.

Trump announced the tariffs in an executive order alongside an address in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.

In the executive order, Trump said while the US trading policy has been built on the principle of reciprocity, taxes and barriers on US products by its trading partners had hurt the US.

The tariffs, he said, were a response. The base tariff of 10 percent on almost all US imports will be imposed by April 5, the additional reciprocal tariffs on countries will kick in on April 9. 

During his address, Trump made the argument that the US is charging its trading partners with smaller tariffs compared with the tariffs and non-tariff barriers that the partners impose on the US.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.

“If you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America,” he said.

According to information from officials at the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, currently the total volume of trade between Afghanistan and the United States is between $8 and $10 million annually.

Afghan private sector representatives call on the US to reconsider Afghanistan’s inclusion in the tariffs list.

“It will undoubtedly affect us to some extent. Our trade with the US is small, but important items are exported, such as handicrafts, an industry in which women especially work. Handicrafts such as hats are exported. Antique items that are very important to know our identity are also exported. Dried fruits and sometimes fresh fruits and carpets are also exported,” Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said.

Abdul Qasim Amarkhel, head of the Dried Fruit Exporters’ Union, says: “The 10% tariff is cruel and illegal. This country is not China or Europe, but Afghanistan. Our dried fruit exports to the US are not that high. It is around $10 million. We ask the US to reconsider this decision. It should also release our frozen funds.”

Afghanistan’s exports to the US are mainly carpets and dried fruits.