Washington: The United States and Pakistan have reached an agreement aimed at reducing tariffs for Islamabad and launching a joint effort to develop Pakistan’s untapped oil reserves, officials from both countries confirmed.
US President Donald Trump announced the deal in a post on his Truth Social platform, stating that his administration had finalized a new trade framework with Pakistan.
Although he offered few specifics, Trump announced that the agreement would involve the development of Pakistan’s "massive oil reserves" in partnership with a yet-to-be-selected American oil company.
“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. “We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership. Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling oil to India some day!”
Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb, who is currently in Washington for a final-stage negotiations on a tariff deal, also began meetings with senior US officials yesterday.
The Pakistani delegation is keeping the details of the talks under wraps, but one official said, “We hope to sign a deal before the (August 1) deadline expires,” the Dawn reported.
“We hope to conclude a mutually beneficial trade agreement… hopefully in days, not in weeks,” said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during a recent event at the Atlantic Council in Washington as reported by the Pakistani newspaper.
Dar, who was recently in New York to address the United Nations, said a committee had been formed to finalise the terms of the proposed deal.
“As long as we are better than or equal to our peers, we should be fine,” Dar said.
President Trump made the remarks on US-Pakistan deal after he announced a 25 per cent tariff, along with additional penalties on Indian imports, set to take effect from August 1. He cited the US trade deficit with New Delhi and India’s continued purchase of Russian oil as key reasons behind the move.
In his post, Trump also mentioned that he had held discussions on trade agreements with several world leaders, “all of whom,” he said, “want to make the United States extremely happy.”
"We are very busy in the White House today working on trade deals. I have spoken to the leaders of many countries, all of whom want to make the United States 'extremely happy'. I will be meeting with the South Korean trade delegation this afternoon. South Korea is right now at a 25 per cent tariff, but they have an offer to buy down those Tariffs. I will be interested in hearing what that offer is.
"Likewise, other countries are making offers for a tariff reduction. All of this will help reduce our trade deficit in a very major way. A full report will be released at the appropriate time. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote on Truth Social post.
