WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his administration has struck a deal with Pakistan in which Washington will work with Islamabad in developing the South Asian nation’s oil reserves.
“We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves,” Trump wrote on social media. “We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this Partnership.”
Trump’s social media post did not provide further details on the deal between the U.S. and Pakistan. The Pakistani embassy in Washington had no immediate comment.
Last week, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the United States and Pakistan were “very close” to a trade deal that could come within days, after he met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday. Under Trump, Washington has attempted to renegotiate trade agreements with many countries that he threatened with tariffs over what he calls unfair trade relations. Many economists dispute Trump’s characterization.
The U.S. State Department and Pakistan’s foreign ministry, in separate statements after Rubio’s meeting with Dar, said last week the two top diplomats stressed in their discussion the importance of expanding trade and ties in critical minerals and mining. “Our teams have been here in Washington discussing, having virtual meetings and a committee has been tasked by the prime minister to fine tune now,” Dar said last week about U.S.-Pakistan talks.In another development, President Donald Trump said the United States is still negotiating with India on trade after announcing earlier in the day the U.S. will impose a 25pc tariff on goods imported from the country starting on Friday.
The new tariffs will impact Indian goods exports to the U.S., estimated at around $87 billion in 2024, including labour-intensive products such as garments, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewelry, and petrochemicals.
The 25pc tariff, as well as an unspecified penalty announced by Trump in a morning social media post, would strain relations with the world’s most populous democracy. Later at the White House, the Republican president indicated there was wiggle room. “They have one of the highest tariffs in the world now, they’re willing to cut it very substantially,” Trump told reporters. “We’re talking to India now -- we’ll see what happens... You’ll know by the end of this week.”
The 25pc figure would single out India more severely than other major trading partners undermining a strategic partner of Washington’s and a counterbalance to China. The White House had previously warned India about its high average applied tariffs -- nearly 39pc on agricultural products -- with rates climbing to 45pc on vegetable oils and around 50pc on apples and corn. “While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!”
In response, the Indian government said it was studying the implications of Trump’s announcements and remained dedicated to securing a fair trade deal with the U.S. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump has been frustrated with the progress of trade talks with India and believed the 25pc tariff announcement would help the situation. Hassett said more information on an additional penalty would be made “shortly.”
“This is a major setback for Indian exporters, especially in sectors like textiles, footwear, and furniture, as the 25pc tariff will render them uncompetitive against rivals from Vietnam and China,” said S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisation.
Meanwhile, the Indian Congress party lashed out at the BJP-led government minutes saying that New Delhi is now bearing the cost of Narendra Modi’s ‘friendship’.
The party said Trump imposed tariffs on India despite Modi campaigning for the US president. “The country is now bearing the cost of Narendra Modi’s ‘friendship. Modi campaigned for Trump, hugged him eagerly, posed for photos, and made it trend on social media. In the end Trump still imposed tariffs on India. India’s foreign policy has completely failed,” the party said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh attacked the Modi government, saying the praise of the US president has had no effect and “taareef hi tareef mein tariff lag gaya”.
“This is a huge challenge before us. We used to think there were two big challenges before us – Pakistan and China, but the US has emerged as the third big trouble,” he added.
Congress leader Pawan Khera slammed the Modi government’s foreign policy. He told ANI that the government has not directly confronted Trump over his repeated ceasefire claims in the hope that the US President will not impose tariffs.