US President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday that Washington has reached a deal with Pakistan to jointly develop the South Asian country’s oil reserves, an agreement that Pakistani officials say will also ease US tariffs on their exports.
“We have just concluded a deal with Pakistan, whereby we will work together on developing their massive oil reserves,” Trump posted on Truth Social, his personal social media platform.
While the US president made no mention of trade terms, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed the agreement in a brief statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “Pakistan concludes a deal with the US,” without elaborating further.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb, currently in Washington for high-level trade talks, hailed the deal as a “win-win” for both countries. “From our perspective, it was always going beyond the immediate trade imperative,” he said in a video message. “Trade and investment have to go hand in hand.”
Aurangzeb’s visit marks his second trip to the US capital in two weeks, signalling the final phase of negotiations that had been underway since April, when Washington temporarily suspended a proposed 29% tariff on Pakistani goods to facilitate dialogue.
As Trump touted a new energy alliance with Islamabad, he also floated the idea of future trade between Pakistan and its regional rival. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling oil to India some day!” he remarked.
Just hours before unveiling the deal with Islamabad, the US president imposed a 25% tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi’s continued trade with Russia. The new penalties are scheduled to take effect on August 1.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” Trump said, also criticising India’s tariff regime as “among the highest in the world.”