
Pakistan, US finalizing trade deal, Kayani tells Bloomberg
Pakistan's revised tariff rate of 19% is lower than that of several regional economies, including India (25%), Bangladesh (20%), Vietnam (20%), and Sri Lanka (20%).
Bilal Azhar Kayani told Bloomberg TV in an interview that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government aims to secure a better tariff on certain exports during the ongoing talks with the US.
'The agreement with more details will be negotiated and discussed in the months ahead,' Kayani said.
The South Asian nation reached a trade deal last month with a 19% tariff – significantly lower than the initially proposed 29%, under a sweeping new executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
The two nations have seen an improvement in relations recently with Trump also hosting Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Asim Munir for rare talks at the White House, who is on a second trip to the US within a few months.
President Donald Trump, while announcing the trade deal, said the US will work with Pakistan on developing 'their massive oil reserves' and its in the process of choosing an oil company to lead the partnership.
The news of the deal came on the same day that Trump launched an unprecedented tariff attack against India - threatening tariffs of 25% - which were later increased to 50% - among the highest on any US trading partner, unless India stops buying Russian oil and weapons.
In India, Trump's tariffs spark calls to boycott American goods
Trump has threatened higher tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on its allies, if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not move to end the war in Ukraine, and threatened to sanction both Russia and its allies.
He even expressed dissatisfaction with India's participation in the 'anti-US' BRICS grouping.
Their relations worsened as an Indian government source said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit China for the first time in over seven years later this month.
During the announcement of oil reserves, Trump added how Pakistan 'may be selling oil to India one day.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Recorder
27 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
India's actions related to IWT: Pakistan must assert its rights, say experts
ISLAMABAD: Experts recommend that Pakistan must assert its rights under international law in response to India's actions related to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). To evaluate the BJP government's performance during the first year of its third term, with a particular focus on how 'Modi 3.0' fared on domestic socio-political, economic, military, and foreign policy fronts, the India Study Centre (ISC) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) organised a roundtable on Monday, titled: 'One Year of Modi 3.0 – India's Foreign Policy Ambitions and Domestic Governance.' The roundtable was attended by senior diplomats, practitioners, academics, think-tank experts, and area specialists. Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood delivered welcome remarks. Of the panellist, Dr Raashid Wali Janjua spoke on the internal dynamics of Modi 3.0, while Ambassador Riffat Masood covered the foreign policy arena. The distinguished participants included former Foreign Minister Ambassador Inamul Haque. During the course of discussion, it was highlighted that since the beginning of 2025, the BJP has incurred losses in the internal political space, while India lost considerable ground in its international standing and image. There is deepening polarisation in Indian society on political, social, economic, ethnic, linguistic and regional lines. The Waqf bill, migration laws, and revision of voter lists in states like Bihar indicated further shrinking space for the Muslims. 'Saffronisation' of key state institutions — including the Planning Commission, Election Commission, High Judiciary, and the Armed forces — has been the hallmark of the Modi era. Experts also noted an ostensible rift between the RSS and BJP on a range of issues from appointment of BJP party President, to PM Modi approaching the age of 75 years, to some BJP segments' clamour for a course independent from Nagpur. In the aftermath India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025, PM Modi's popularity has declined, but he could probably manage the mounting challenges. Internally, India is coping with issues such as poverty, income inequality, and growing unemployment. Today's India is witnessing creeping authoritarianism and majoritarianism. Pluralism is increasingly losing ground. It was highlighted that in order to understand Indian policies, particularly towards Pakistan, the Indian 'mindset' needs to be understood first. Experts pointed out that India never accepted the creation of Pakistan and the current BJP leadership believed in the RSS fantasy of Akhand Bharat. Modi's disdain for Pakistan and his expansionist designs are reflective of this mindset. Across the world, election campaigns mostly focus on internal issues, but in the case of India, election campaigns are more about Pakistan-bashing to stoke nationalism and garner votes. It was underscored that despite ongoing tensions between India and the US, the relationship between the two countries would likely remain intact as it is institutionalised and both countries are strategically important to each other. Notably, as compared to the Biden Administration, which was tilted towards India, President Trump has decided to maintain a balance between India and Pakistan. Participants were of the view that both Congress and the BJP are two sides of the same coin. No matter who holds power, India's antagonistic posture towards Pakistan will remain the same. Indian arrogance has given way to resentment in South Asian countries, but for smaller states in the region it will be difficult to go against India. Participant held the view that since, according to Indian side, 'Operation Sindoor is still continuing', Pakistan must remain vigilant and prepared to effectively respond to new risks and challenges likely to arise in India-Pakistan relations or regionally. Pakistan must be ready for any eventuality, including further false flag operations. Furthermore, fallacious thinking exists in India that there is space for conventional war under the nuclear threshold. Pakistan must take steps to disabuse India of this false, irresponsible and dangerous notion. The paramount importance for Pakistan to ensure economic strength and robust defence and deterrent capability was also underscored. Participants cautioned that under Modi, Kashmir's religious and cultural identity is at risk. Pakistan must continue to raise the Jammu and Kashmir dispute proactively at all available forums. On Kashmir, as well as India's decision of holding the IWT in abeyance, Pakistan must explore more diplomatic and legal options. The upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session would be a good opportunity for Pakistan to raise these two issues. More importantly, Pakistan must work on building more water reservoirs and improving its domestic water management with urgency. The roundtable concluded with a vote of thanks by Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, chairman BoG, ISSI. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025


Business Recorder
27 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Number of Belarus jobs won't exceed 10,000 mark, Senate panel told
ISLAMABAD: The workforce requirement of Belarus from Pakistan will not exceed 10,000 and it largely needs skilled labour. This was revealed in the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis meeting held under the chairmanship Senator Zeeshan Khanzada. The secretary Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis has clarified that right now the total workforce requirement of Belarus is around 164,000. For these vacancies, Belarus will give first preference to its own people. He said 150,000 jobs will be offered all over the world, out of which, Pakistan might get a share of 5,000-10,000 jobs. He said Belarus largely needs skilled human resource and knowledge of Russian and Belarusian languages is a prerequisite for the jobs. He said in late 2024, Pakistan and Belarus agreed, in principle, to facilitate labour migration. During Belarusian President Aleksandr Luashenko's visit to Pakistan on 26 November 2024, the countries signed a Roadmap 2025-27 for comprehensive cooperation that included labour mobility. He stated the finalised draft MoU concurred during the Belarussian Expert Delegation's visit has been shared by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and HRD with all relevant stakeholders for their No Objection Certificates (NoC). Upon receipt of responses, the document will be submitted to the Federal Cabinet for formal approval prior to signing. Moreover, as informed by the expert-level delegation, the MoU is expected to be formally signed during the visit of the interior minister of Belarus to Pakistan anticipated by the end of August 2025. During the briefing, it was revealed that a total of 17,236 Pakistanis are currently detained in prisons across various countries, with the majority located in the Middle East. The committee was further informed that 85 Pakistani prisoners are being held in Afghanistan; however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to provide details regarding the nature of crimes for which these individuals are detained. Expressing serious displeasure over the non-provision of this critical information, the committee directed the ministry to furnish comprehensive data on all overseas Pakistanis convicted or under trial worldwide including the nature of their crimes within 15 days. It also directed the ministry to submit a list of countries that have policies to inform Pakistani authorities about such cases, as well as those that withhold such information, for discussion in the next meeting. The chairman committee directed the ministry to expedite efforts to finalise Prisoner Transfer Agreements with various countries to facilitate the repatriation of innocent Pakistanis trapped in legal cases abroad. Senator NasirMehmood further recommended verification of the citizenship status of the 85 Pakistanis detained in Afghanistan. Community Welfare Attachés (CWAs) from various postings briefed the committee on the status of under-trial and convicted Pakistanis in their respective jurisdictions. The CWAs from Dubai, Doha, and Kuala Lumpur reported 3,523, 619, and 499 detainees respectively. The committee reviewed the functioning of CWAs and directed the ministry to submit the evaluation procedures for assessing their performance, along with detailed information on all convicted and under-trial Pakistanis in each jurisdiction. Senator Shahadat Awan raised concerns over the inadequate formatting and incomplete information provided in the working papers submitted by ministries. He stressed the need for presenting complete and accurate information in a professional manner before such a prestigious forum. The chairman committee also observed a significant lack of coordination and data sharing between the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Overseas Pakistanis. He emphasised the importance of improving inter-ministerial cooperation for the welfare of overseas citizens. Senator Raja Nasir Abbas highlighted the illegal detention of his relative, Ghulam Hasnain, who had proceeded for Umrah, and urged the concerned authorities to resolve the matter on a priority basis. He also drew attention to the difficulties faced by Pakistanis traveling to Iraq, including passport confiscations and low wages for Pakistani workers. The chairman stressed the urgent need for the enactment of a Consular Protection Act to safeguard the rights of Pakistani prisoners abroad. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025


Business Recorder
27 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Investments, trade deal: Pakistan, US in talks to finalise details
KARACHI: Pakistan and US officials are in talks to finalize finer details of the trade deal that includes investments commitments by Washington, the country's junior finance minister said on Monday. 'The agreement with more details will be negotiated and discussed in the months ahead,' Bilal Azhar Kayani said in an interview with Bloomberg TV's Haslinda Amin. Pakistan, US finalising trade deal, Kayani tells Bloomberg Pakistan is looking to get better tariffs on some key exports to the US and trying to seal investment commitments in critical sectors like energy, mines and minerals, he added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025