Pakistan says it wins US tariff deal; Trump cites oil reserves pact
Neither mentioned the tariff rate agreed.
Pakistan, which Washington has designated a "major non-NATO ally" in its effort to counter rival China's influence in the region, faced a potential tariff of 29% declared in April that was later suspended for 90 days to allow trade talks.
"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."
He gave no further details.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also confirmed the deal. "Deal concluded," he told Reuters, without elaborating.
Although Trump did not mention a tariff deal, Pakistan's finance ministry said on Thursday it would lead to "reduction of reciprocal tariffs, especially on Pakistani exports to the United States", but stopped short of revealing the figure.
"This deal marks the beginning of a new era of economic collaboration especially in energy, mines and minerals, IT, cryptocurrency and other sectors," it said.
The deal was a win-win situation for both nations, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who led the final round of talks in Washington, said in video remarks.
"From our perspective, it was always going beyond the immediate trade imperative, and its whole purpose was, and is, that trade and investment have to go hand in hand," he added in the statement from his office.
Last week, Dar said both nations were "very close" to a trade deal that could come within days, after he met Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.
They discussed expanding trade and ties in critical minerals and mining, the two sides said afterwards. Other Pakistani officials have also visited for talks in recent weeks.
Under Trump, Washington has sought to renegotiate trade deals with many countries which he threatened with tariffs for trade relations he calls unfair, a characterization many economists dispute.
U.S. total goods trade with Pakistan was an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, the office of the U.S. trade representative says on its website, up from about $6.9 billion in 2023.
In 2024, its goods trade deficit with Pakistan was $3 billion, up 5.2% from 2023.
Trump also said Washington was still negotiating with India on trade after he declared a tariff of 25% on goods imported from Pakistan's arch foe would start from Friday.
Pakistan recently said it "appreciated the pivotal role" of Trump and Rubio "in de-escalating tensions between Pakistan and India by facilitating a ceasefire."
Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington's talks with both sides.
India disputes Trump's claims that the ceasefire resulted from his intervention and trade threats.
India's position is that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve problems directly with no outside involvement.
The latest escalation in the decades-old India-Pakistan rivalry was triggered by a deadly April 22 militant attack in India-administered Kashmir that India blamed on Pakistan.
Islamabad denied responsibility.
India struck Pakistan on May 7 and they exchanged deadly hostilities until the ceasefire.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
India's Gland Pharma posts quarterly profit rise on Cenexi recovery, Europe sales growth
Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's Gland Pharma ( opens new tab reported a nearly 50% jump in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by better margins and a recovery at its European unit Cenexi. The company reported a consolidated net profit of 2.15 billion rupees ($24.50 million) for the quarter ended June 30, from 1.44 billion rupees in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from operations rose 7.4% to 15.06 billion rupees. While sales from its U.S. business, which accounts for nearly half of the total, fell 2%, its Europe business posted a 29% rise. For further results highlights, click KEY CONTEXT Gland and several Indian pharma companies that make generic drugs derive a significant share of revenue from the United States and has continued to face pricing pressure in that market following U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of hefty tariffs on goods imported from India. Rivals Sun Pharma ( opens new tab and Cipla ( opens new tab and Dr Reddy's ( opens new tab reported subdued U.S. sales in the quarter. However, Gland Pharma said improved margins and Cenexi's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) break-even supported quarterly performance, marking a turnaround after production setbacks at its Paris and Belgium units weighed on earnings over the past year. The company's EBITDA margin rose to 35% in the June quarter from 29% a year earlier. PEER COMPARISON * Mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell ** Ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT APRIL TO JUNE STOCK PERFORMANCE -- All data from LSEG -- $1 = 87.7570 Indian rupeesthe
Leader Live
12 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Russia says it will no longer abide by self-imposed missile moratorium
It is a warning that potentially sets the stage for a new arms race as tensions between Moscow and Washington rise again over Ukraine. In a statement on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry linked the decision to efforts by the US and its allies to develop intermediate-range weapons and preparations for their deployment in Europe and other parts of the world. It specifically cited US plans to deploy Typhoon and Dark Eagle missiles in Germany starting next year. The ministry noted that such actions by the US and its allies create 'destabilising missile potentials' near Russia, creating a 'direct threat to the security of our country' and carry 'significant harmful consequences for regional and global stability, including a dangerous escalation of tensions between nuclear powers'. It did not say what specific moves the Kremlin might take, but President Vladimir Putin has previously announced that Moscow was planning to deploy its new Oreshnik missiles on the territory of its neighbour and ally Belarus later this year. 'Decisions on specific parameters of response measures will be made by the leadership of the Russian Federation based on an interdepartmental analysis of the scale of deployment of American and other Western land-based intermediate-range missiles, as well as the development of the overall situation in the area of international security and strategic stability,' the Foreign Ministry said. The Russian statement follows US President Donald Trump's announcement on Friday that he is ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines 'based on the highly provocative statements' of Dmitry Medvedev, who was president in 2008-12 to allow Mr Putin, bound by term limits, to later return to the office. Mr Trump's statement came as his deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in Ukraine approaches later this week. Mr Trump said he was alarmed by Mr Medvedev's attitude. Mr Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council chaired by Mr Putin, has apparently sought to curry favour with his mentor by making provocative statements and frequently lobbing nuclear threats. Last week he responded to Mr Trump's deadline for Russia to accept a peace deal in Ukraine or face sanctions by warning him against 'playing the ultimatum game with Russia' and declaring that 'each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war'. Mr Medvedev also commented on the Foreign Ministry's statement, describing Moscow's withdrawal from the moratorium as 'the result of Nato countries' anti-Russian policy'. 'This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with,' he wrote on X. 'Expect further steps.' Intermediate-range missiles can fly between 500 to 5,500 kilometres (310 to 3,400 miles). Such land-based weapons were banned under the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Washington and Moscow abandoned the pact in 2019, accusing each other of violations, but Moscow declared its self-imposed moratorium on their deployment until the US makes such a move. The collapse of the INF Treaty has stoked fears of a replay of a Cold War-era European missile crisis, when the US and the Soviet Union both deployed intermediate-range missiles on the continent in the 1980s. Such weapons are seen as particularly destabilising because they take less time to reach targets, compared with intercontinental ballistic missiles, leaving no time for decision-makers and raising the likelihood of a global nuclear conflict over a false launch warning. Russia's missile forces chief has declared that the new Oreshnik intermediate-range missile, which Russia first used against Ukraine in November, has a range to reach all of Europe. Oreshnik can carry conventional or nuclear warheads. Mr Putin has praised the Oreshnik's capabilities, saying its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds up to Mach 10 are immune to being intercepted and are so powerful that the use of several of them in one conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack. Mr Putin has warned the West that Moscow could use it against Ukraine's Nato allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump to sign order punishing banks that discriminate against conservatives: report
President Donald Trump is set to crack down on Wall Street banks accused of dropping customers over their conservative beliefs and shutting out cryptocurrency companies, a new report states. Trump, the self-professed first ' crypto-president,' is expected to sign an executive order as soon as this week that threatens financial penalties in response to so-called politically motivated 'debanking,' sources told the Wall Street Journal. A draft of the order viewed by the Journal directs bank regulators to investigate whether financial institutions have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a federal law that bars discrimination in access to credit. Investigators are reportedly also directed to look into whether antitrust or consumer financial protection laws have been breached. In some cases, the newspaper said, violations are to be reported by regulators to the attorney general, according to the order. The draft is said to urge regulators to strike any policies that might have contributed to banks dropping certain customers. The Small Business Administration is directed to review bank practices that guarantee the agency's loans. The directive also criticizes the role that some banks played in an investigation into the riots at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, according to the newspaper. The draft reportedly states that violating lenders could be slapped with fines and consent decrees, among other disciplinary measures. While the order doesn't explicitly name any offenders, the Journal said it appears to refer to an instance where a Christian organization operating in Uganda had its accounts shut down by the Bank of America, citing religious beliefs. The bank contested that it does not serve small businesses operating outside the U.S. Conservatives have long accused banks of denying them services on the grounds of their political or religious beliefs. In January, Trump said the CEOs Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase – Brian Moynihan and Jamie Dimon respectively – did not provide banking services to conservatives. While speaking to Fox Business last week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott pointed fingers at regulators for shutting down bank accounts of Americans they 'just don't like.' Regulators operate under an 'alphabet soup' of federal agencies, sources told the news station, while Scott called the situation in D.C. a 'financial swamp.' Meanwhile, crypto firms have repeatedly complained they were denied access to banking services while former President Joe Biden was in office. Financial institutions have cited legal, regulatory and financial risks and blamed pressure from regulators for their previous decisions to largely avoid the cryptocurrency industry. A Bank of America spokesperson on Monday welcomed efforts to provide regulatory clarity. They told the Journal that the bank is committed to working with the Trump administration and supporting Congress to 'improve the regulatory framework.' In late April, the Justice Department said it was launching a task force in Virginia to 'combat illegal debanking.' The task force was set to review allegations of banks refusing customers access to credit or other services based on 'impermissible factors.'
